What do you think?
Rate this book
Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore
Young sunbathers can learn all about the wonders at the water's edge with Jim Arnosky's fascinating guide. With friendly notes and detailed illustrations of everything from ghost crabs to shark teeth, this award-winning author and wildlife expert outfits kids with the knowledge they need to become avid beachcombers. Take it along on a family vacation or school trip, or make the beach come alive at home with this personal tour of the shore.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 11, 2004
1 person is currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Jim Arnosky
162 books76 followersJim Arnosky was born in New York City, NY Sept 1, 1946. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Jim graduated from high school in Philadelphia and joined the US Naval Reserves. His active duty took him to Maryland and Bremerhaven, Germany.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.
Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.
Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 4, 2015
Personal Reaction:
I really enjoyed this book because I love the beach and beach combing. This gives information and pictures of things that you might find when on the beach. This book does have an emphasis on things that you mind find on the gulf/east coast however these things can be found anywhere. Jim Arnosky did his research for this book in the Florida Keys, so that's why it has this spin. The book is really fun and colorful. This book is written in a journal style.
Purpose:
Read Aloud:
This is a very easy book to read with a lot of pictures and descriptions that will stretch and enhance student vocabulary. I would read this book when doing a science unit on the ocean.
Independent reading: This informational book is best for grades 1, 2 and 3, but older students could possibly use it as a resource for research projects.
If we are ever studying the ocean or beaches, this is the perfect book to have for students to get information. It is very informational and straight to the point. It has information on different shells, sharks teeth, coconuts, corals, and sea animals that you might find while walking on the beach.
Nonfiction Conventions:
This book has a lot of pictures of different things you might find on the beach. There are different print styles. Things that are more important than others are in bold. There are sidebars that help organize the information in the book.
I really enjoyed this book because I love the beach and beach combing. This gives information and pictures of things that you might find when on the beach. This book does have an emphasis on things that you mind find on the gulf/east coast however these things can be found anywhere. Jim Arnosky did his research for this book in the Florida Keys, so that's why it has this spin. The book is really fun and colorful. This book is written in a journal style.
Purpose:
Read Aloud:
This is a very easy book to read with a lot of pictures and descriptions that will stretch and enhance student vocabulary. I would read this book when doing a science unit on the ocean.
Independent reading: This informational book is best for grades 1, 2 and 3, but older students could possibly use it as a resource for research projects.
If we are ever studying the ocean or beaches, this is the perfect book to have for students to get information. It is very informational and straight to the point. It has information on different shells, sharks teeth, coconuts, corals, and sea animals that you might find while walking on the beach.
Nonfiction Conventions:
This book has a lot of pictures of different things you might find on the beach. There are different print styles. Things that are more important than others are in bold. There are sidebars that help organize the information in the book.
July 15, 2017
Mommy read me this book that we got from the library.
July 7, 2024
Many of the wonderful things to be found by beachcombing at the seashore are discussed in this engaging and educational picture book from author/illustrator Jim Arnosky, the creator of so many wonderful works of natural history for children. Sections are devoted to seashells, crabs, horseshoe crabs, jellyfish, coral beaches, coconuts, beach birds, special finds, and shark teeth. The books closes with a brief author's note and a list of further reading...
As with so many of Arnosky's other books (this is the fifty-fourth I've read), I found Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore quite appealing, appreciating both the informative narrative and the lovely illustrations. I have many fond memories of beachcombing myself, both on ocean and lake shores, and recall the thrill—evoked throughout the book—of making a good find! I appreciated the author's note here, in which Arnosky shares that he and his wife visited twenty-six different Florida beaches, on both the Atlantic of Gulf of Mexico coasts, while researching the book. Recommended to young beach lovers, or to any child preparing to spend the day at the beach—this book will provide an engaging guide to what they may find there.
As with so many of Arnosky's other books (this is the fifty-fourth I've read), I found Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore quite appealing, appreciating both the informative narrative and the lovely illustrations. I have many fond memories of beachcombing myself, both on ocean and lake shores, and recall the thrill—evoked throughout the book—of making a good find! I appreciated the author's note here, in which Arnosky shares that he and his wife visited twenty-six different Florida beaches, on both the Atlantic of Gulf of Mexico coasts, while researching the book. Recommended to young beach lovers, or to any child preparing to spend the day at the beach—this book will provide an engaging guide to what they may find there.
April 14, 2021
t think the book was really good
August 28, 2022
Really thought out. Perfect to get for your kids on the way to a beach for their first time.
July 9, 2024
ive collected a ton of cuttlefish shells, for birdy. Hes learning to say fuck you . Froze my arse off. And walked, smiles. Early morning swims. lol- too
May 6, 2015
I thought this book was great and I would completely have it in my classroom. This book is so informational but still told in an interesting way. Also, this book is approachable for young readers with bright colors and pretty illustrations. This is definitely a younger grades appropriate read which not every informational book is.
I would love to read this book aloud when talking about sea animals, or what families do on beaches. If families look for shells, then this book would be perfect! It's also very informational, but told in a story manner. So for this reason, I would love to lead the class through a lesson on what makes a story non-fiction, or informational. And even though this has a narrator feel throughout, it's absolutely an informational book, as this could be a point of discussion.
For an individual reader, I would suggest this book to a child who was maybe excited about going on vacation to the beach. This way I could suggest an informational story that the student could relate to. It's easy for students to relate to fiction, but not as much with informational books and this i think it a huge benefit to this book.
This book has great captions and labels on the illustrations. The author points out all the major points on each of the animals or plants, which is super helpful as a reader. Also, they have a list of resources in the back of the book, which I enjoyed to look at from this entertaining and informative story.
I would love to read this book aloud when talking about sea animals, or what families do on beaches. If families look for shells, then this book would be perfect! It's also very informational, but told in a story manner. So for this reason, I would love to lead the class through a lesson on what makes a story non-fiction, or informational. And even though this has a narrator feel throughout, it's absolutely an informational book, as this could be a point of discussion.
For an individual reader, I would suggest this book to a child who was maybe excited about going on vacation to the beach. This way I could suggest an informational story that the student could relate to. It's easy for students to relate to fiction, but not as much with informational books and this i think it a huge benefit to this book.
This book has great captions and labels on the illustrations. The author points out all the major points on each of the animals or plants, which is super helpful as a reader. Also, they have a list of resources in the back of the book, which I enjoyed to look at from this entertaining and informative story.
April 11, 2010
Fun and colorful book about beachcombing and the fascinating things you can find. Although it has an East/Gulf Coast slant (since those are the beaches the author visited while researching this book), most of the creatures are fairly ubiquitous. I noticed that he didn't mention the copious amounts of trash you can find washed up as well. We often bring two containers when we go beachcombing - one for trash and the other for treasures. Our girls really enjoyed looking at the pictures in this book and pointing out the items they've found.
April 16, 2009
This is a great book to take to the beach with young children; it's a readable guide to what you might find. Plus, who doesn't dream of "research" that involves studying and painting beaches in Florida for months?
April 22, 2011
Great picture book about life on the beach. Discusses the types of animals, seashells, etc. The beach is so exploratory because of the tide coming in there is always something new to find. It makes me want to go to the beach so bad and relax and build sandcastles!
April 21, 2016
This informational book gives young readers all the information they'll need about animals and other things they will find at the beach. It also has great pictures to go along with the text. It will almost make the reader feel like they are at the beach!
October 28, 2011
This was a good story. All the shells were on the sand and all the birds came to get the shells. Emilio
July 3, 2012
I really liked the "journal" pages, but was a little disappointed on the emphasis on East Coast. But obviously can't do whole world.
July 16, 2013
Just the book for anyone planning a summer vacation at the seashore! Jim Arnosky does an excellent job explaining the joys of beachcombing and explaining the different items that might be found.
February 24, 2014
I learned something new on every page. There are so many wonderful creatures at the beach. The pictures are colorful, bright, and happy. It makes you feel like you are actually at the beach!
November 6, 2014
Very good facts about sea creatures, but it was hard to follow text. I could easily use in classroom or home.
May 1, 2017
Pretty book that discuss different things you will find on the beach: shells, crabs, birds, coral. Each one is discussed more in depth with lots of illustrations of the different varieties. Good for kids K-4th. I thought it was interesting and attractive, yet not too childish to use with 4th grade. I enjoyed reading this book and even learned something.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews