A Beach Day

by Douglas Florian

Describes simply how one family enjoys a day at the beach, and includes a list of seashells for which to look

Genres: Picture Books, Summer, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1990

Reviews

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a pretty simple book, it was still written well enough to bring back many childhood memories of going to the beach. All my kids enjoyed it. My 5 yr old loved the rhyming and my twin 3 yr olds enjoyed the pictures. While there were only a few words on each page, the fact that it was rhyming as you went along, really made the book flow well, and it wasn't overdone rhyming, like when authors try to hard to make sure the words rhyme when they don't really need to. But it added something extra to this book. Not enough words for a level 1 label but a book the whole family can enjoy nonetheless.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable illustrations!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Beach Day by Douglas Florian follows a family who spends a special summer day at the beach.

After a car ride, the family parks, finds a good spot and splashes as waves crash. They sail kites, build a sand castle, and hunt for shells and stones. The family enjoys ice cream, feeds sea gulls and strolls on the boardwalk. After sunset they enjoy Fourth of July fireworks.

Using just 31 words, Florian captures the essence of a familiar experience, as he did in A Winter Day and {book: A Summer Day]. The large font and few words per page make this simplified story a good beginning reader choice. A final page illustrates 14 common shells found on both coasts.

The simple, colorful, rustic illustrations clearly portray the actions described.

For ages 2 to 6, seasons, beach, Fourth of July fireworks, family, summer, shells, and fans of Douglas Florian.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A BEACH DAY is just that. It is a perfectly simple depiction of a beach day. Douglas Florian, author of many delightful nature related books, wrote this many years ago but it holds a timeless quality that is still relate-able a decade later. It follows a family as they pack up the car, venture into the water, explore the sand, and watch the fireworks at the end of a fun day. In the back, Florian has included an index of all seashells you might find on the shore. Each page contains few words and detailed illustrations, perfect for toddlers.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be good for toddler/ preschool story time. great pics, simple story!

[Elizabeth]

Cute, simple, rhyming. I hadn't realized this was a 4th of July book, so I will definitely have to keep this one in mind for next summer.

[Buxmont Uu]

WAMWAO Session 35

[Wendi · Rating 5 out of 5]

You learn all about what goes on at a beach. What you will find on the beach. At the end it names all the different kinds of shells you will find there.

[Cathy Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Beach Day by Douglas Florian is a story of how one family enjoys a day, The Fourth of July, at the beach. This book would be considered a preschool through kindergarten level book. There is simply one to three words on each page describing the illustration. It isn’t until the last page that the time period, Fourth of July, is identified.
I am assuming that the author, Mr. Florian, is also the illustrator for this book since I couldn’t find anyone’s name listed as a separate illustrator. The full-color illustrations spanned both pages side-by-side. This was very nice in giving the reader a large picture of what that activity was trying to portray. The illustrations are done in crayon and outlined with a black felt pen. This technique helped each item to standout and not be lost in the overall illustration. At the end of the story is a list of seashells which are found on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. These same seashells were illustrated on the “Shells and Stones” pages. It would be fun for the reader to go back-and-forth to identify them.
Great book to introduce children to reading and also the experiences which he/she could expect to experience at the beach.