All You Need for a Beach

May 1, 2004
Kids trade their winter coats for swimsuits in All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle, illus. by Barbara Lavallee. As in their All You Need for a Snowman, author and artist evoke an experience as an accretion of "necessary" details-and children. "One grain of sand, like the smallest seed, one tiny grain, that's all you need for a beach!" the text declares. Subsequent admonitions ("Wait!"; "But") lead to additional beach necessities such as the sun, toys, snacks, sea birds and, of course, the ocean.

May 1, 2004
PreS-In the same playful, rhyming style as in this pair's All You Need for a Snowman (Harcourt, 2002), this story unfolds. "One grain of sand/like the smallest seed, /-that's all you need/for a beach!/Except for/-Trillions of grains of sand, /and EACH/is one small piece/of your very own beach!" Add to that sun, birds, water, balls, umbrellas, towels, lemonade, and "YOU!" Children will delight in the exuberance of the text and the vibrant illustrations that bring all of the sights, smells, and textures to life. The characters in the gouache-and-watercolor illustrations are similar to those in Snowman, but they have a wonderful, soft quality that perfectly conveys the hazy lazy joy of being at the shore. A good choice for reading aloud.-Genevieve Gallagher, Orange County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2004
PreS. Reminiscent of William Blake's lines about finding the world in a grain of sand, " All You Need for a Beach" begins: "One grain of sand / like the smallest seed, / one tiny grain / that's all you need / for a beach!" Then come the words "EXCEPT FOR," which lead the way to a scene of a full beach: "five million other grains, / ten million more, / spread them all out on the sandy shore." Each successive spread adds things that make a beach complete--the sun, an umbrella, a towel, lemonade--ending with, "All you need for a beach is . . . YOU!" Schertle's infectious rhythm adds suspense with each turn of the page, and her joyful singsong rhymes are nicely matched by sun-baked watercolors of children and grown-ups, busy and blissed-out by the shore. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2004
In this companion to "All You Need for a Snowman", busy kids enjoy a summer's day. Again, Schertle's rhyming text bounces along with its list ("sun and shade, / buckets and balls and / lemonade"), while Lavallee's illustrations capture the joys of sand and sea. Preschoolers, however, are bound to notice the one crucial item nowhere to be seen: sunscreen.

(Copyright 2004 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)