Children's Books discussion

In July, let's enjoy some literary travel to the seaside! I can hardly wait :-) I envision seaside/beaches including people enjoying the beach, creatures that live at the seaside (so we could perhaps include some more science-based titles which I know some group members have been wanting). And also places with beaches like Hawaii.

It is now time to VOTE for the seven books you would like to read with the group in July. Please choose from the official nominations (books listed beginning with message 2 through message 49) and post your selections in a comment below. Votes will be accepted until June 23rd. Thank you!

*Please note, the PBC did a "Seaside/Beaches" theme back in July of 2011 so I am including the books that were nominated at that time so as to keep one complete Master List. Certainly many other excellent books fitting the theme have been published in the past eight years and there may be other gems that escaped the list so the list was added to for July 2019! :-)

Flotsam by David Wiesner

One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book by Doris K. Gayzagian

A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams

New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story by April Halprin Wayland

Oh, there are SO MANY books I know that I have to think of; I'll edit this post as I think of them and as I see others' nominations.

Thanks, Kathryn.

Here are some to get us started (I love the seaside, so I'm eager!)

One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book

Beach Day

Mister Seahorse


Three by the Sea: Level 2


Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach

Little Fish


Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

Flip-Flops

Moonbathing

When the Tide Is Low

Good Night, Little Sea Otter

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau (note that some of this does take place in the ocean vs. just at the seaside, but he did so much to champion the oceans and much does take place on the beach or in the shallower waters.)

The Summer of the Marco Polo by Lynn Manuel

Into the Sea by Brenda Z. Guiberson

A Seaside Alphabet by Donna Grassby

A Pod of Orcas : A Seaside Counting Book by Sheryl McFarlane

Sneakers, the Seaside Cat by Margaret Wise Brown

All You Need for a Beach by Alice Schertle

Pebble: A Story About Belonging by Susan Milord

Because Your Daddy Loves You by Andrew Clements

Out of the Ocean by Debra Frasier

Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha

What If? by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

The Jade Necklace by Paul Yee

Loud Emily by Alexis O'Neill

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys & Gulls by Lucy Nolan

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins

Ocean Life by Brenda Z. Guiberson

A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle

Ocean's Child by Christine Ford

What Is an Ocean? by Bobbie Kalman

The Day Ocean Came to Visit by Diane Wolkstein

Oceans and Beaches by Trevor Day

The Deep Blue Sea: A Book Of Colors by Audrey Wood

Clam-I-Am!: All About the Beach by Tish Rabe

Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan

Sand Sister Saw this at the library today it looks interesting. A lonely little girl's imagination runs wild at the beach after drawing a picture of a girl in the sand, with the help of a magic rock, her Sand Sister comes to life.

Holly wrote: "Hello Ocean by Pam Munoz Ryan"

Hello Ocean

--just adding the link ;-)

Lottie's New Beach Towel
An Island Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island
Beach

Freckles and the Great Beach Rescue by Ellen Bryant Lloyd

Water Beds: Sleeping In the Ocean by Gail Langer Karwoski

If a Dolphin Were a Fish by Loran Wlodarski

The Magic Eyes of Little Crab by Mike Lockett

Janet Halfmann: Dolphin's Rescue: The Story of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin, Hermit Crab's Home: Safe in a Shell (Smithsonian Oceanic), Pelican's Catch

Bats at the Beach

Thanks to everyone for the nominations!

The VOTING period is NOW OPEN! Please vote for the five books you would most like to read by making your selection from our official nominations (messages 2-11) and posting a comment here listing your selections.

*Please note that Flotsam was a previous selection in our "Wordless Picture Book" theme. Members may still vote for this book, however, if they choose.

Votes will be accepted until June 17th. Thank you! :-) (I'm very excited about this theme!)

My votes go to:


A Pod of Orcas : A Seaside Counting Book by Sheryl McFarlane

Into the Sea by Brenda Z. Guiberson

What If? by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

A Seaside Alphabet by Donna Grassby

Mother Osprey: Nursery Rhymes for Buoys & Gulls by Lucy Nolan

My 5 votes:

Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

A Beach Tail

Hello Ocean

One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book

Sand Sister

One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book

Sand Sister

Bats at the Beach

Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

Beach Day

I have been on the road for the last two weeks and I haven't had an opportunity to look at the nominations yet. I am not sure I'll vote this month, but I am looking forward to reading our selections. And I'm really looking forward to coming home today!

Dolly wrote: "I have been on the road for the last two weeks and I haven't had an opportunity to look at the nominations yet. I am not sure I'll vote this month, but I am looking forward to reading our selectio..."

Thanks, Dolly. I hope you had a great time. Voting is open through Thursday evening so if you do have the time and inclination to vote when you get back, feel welcome.

Kathryn wrote: "Dolly wrote: "I have been on the road for the last two weeks and I haven't had an opportunity to look at the nominations yet. I am not sure I'll vote this month, but I am looking forward to readin..."

I'm wondering wether it might be a good idea to extend the voting period for this month for a few days. It's summer, and some people might be on holidays etc. and so not as able to get to a computer and vote.

Gundula wrote: "I'm wondering wether it might be a good idea to extend the voting period for this month for a few days. It's summer, and some people might be on holidays etc. and so not as able to get to a computer and vote."

But then we'll have less time to get the books in hand. And people's schedules vary year round. If/when I go away, it tends to be in September-October, and I'm sure other members have various unusual schedules. I don't think we can assume summer months mean members are less frequently at a computer??? Just a thought.

Lisa wrote: "Gundula wrote: "I'm wondering wether it might be a good idea to extend the voting period for this month for a few days. It's summer, and some people might be on holidays etc. and so not as able to ..."

That's a good point, I never thought about that. Probably better just to keep things as they are.

Gundula wrote: "That's a good point, I never thought about that. Probably better just to keep things as they are. "

Thanks for the question, Gundula. But, yes, I think we will just keep things as they are to be consistent ;-) Hopefully, even if people miss out on the nomination and/or voting period, they will still have time to get the books and join in the reading.

I would like to vote for:

Into the Sea
Bats at the Beach
Beach Day
Lottie's New Beach Towel
Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

The votes are in and winners are announced:

Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf
Sand Sister
Into the Sea
One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book
Hello Ocean
sixth/alternate:
Lottie's New Beach Towel

Thanks again to all those who nominated and voted! I'm looking forward to visiting the seaside with all of you in July! :-)

I just read The Seashore Book, by Charlotte Zolotow. Recommended, with a caveat. The book should be designed so we have a chance to 'hear' the mother's evocative words before we see the illustrations.

Since it's not, find a piece of cardboard or another large slim book and lay it over the right-hand image pages as you read the text on the left-hand pages. Use your imagination the way the child is doing, to visualize yourself in the scene the mother describes, seeing what she's talking about, before you pull the cardboard away to see the beautiful painting.

My sister Charlotte has pointed out (possibly on her blog, I'm not sure) that there's a picture book about the beach that doesn't exist yet that should. Some artist should really take on the job of illustrating this e.e. cumming poem:

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,

and milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:

and may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

Can't you see this being a lovely book? Although maybe a bit short...

I couldn't get Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf or Sand Sister, but I've put the other books on hold. They look very interesting. Now I have to get started on June's books, since I've been gone for half the month!

Dolly wrote: "I couldn't get Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf or Sand Sister, but I've put the other books on hold. They look very interesting. Now I have to get started on June's..."

I won't be able to read Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf at all. My library does not have it and it's too recent for ILL requests. Sigh, that is one book I really want to read, but I'm trying not to buy too many books at the moment.

Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf is fabulous. Gundula, and anyone else who can get it at a later time, you can always revive the discussion thread.

Emily, that would make a *wonderful* book. I'm imagining it illustrated by the one who did Jane Yolen's and .

I read A Pod of Orcas : A Seaside Counting Book today. Although the text in this counting book is not spectacular (I found it poetic, but a bit too simple and spare for my taste), the illustrations are simply GORGEOUS, evocative of the sea, the beach, the sights and light of the ocean. The illustrations do not only describe the sea, they are the sea. While the text would likely be a hit with very young children (and a great way of introducing the numbers from one to ten to the very young), the evocative illustrations would in all likelihood be a hit not only with children, but many adults as well. Definitely a picture book where the illustrations not only complement but surpass the text.

Emily wrote: "My sister Charlotte has pointed out (possibly on her blog, I'm not sure) that there's a picture book about the beach that doesn't exist yet that should. Some artist should really take on the job o..."

Oh, gosh! Yes! I just love that. Thank you for sharing :-)

Dolly wrote: "I couldn't get Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf or Sand Sister, but I've put the other books on hold. They look very interesting. Now I have to get started on June's..."

I'm glad you can still join us, Dolly. Yay!

Jut to mention two books with an ocean theme that we have already read and discussed during other monthly themes, monthly reads.


Wave (wordless picture book about a little girl's experience with waves on the beach).

See the Ocean (discussed last month in our persons with physical challenges theme, but also a book that completely describes the ocean, its tastes, sounds smells etc., and how a little blind girl experiences the ocean with all of her senses, that she does not need her eyes to experience the many nuances etc. of the ocean).

Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet Book is fun rhyming ABC book featuring all manner of ocean creatures. The story itself is simple enough for little ones but the back matter gives a bit more info on each of the creatures and makes this suitable for the 6-8 year olds, too.

We just finished Lotties beach towel. It was cute. We really liked the ways that she used that towel. My sine liked that she used it fir a sail.

Cute book, this is one I would have never read unless I was in the book club, thanks!

Leslie wrote: "We just finished Lotties beach towel. It was cute. We really liked the ways that she used that towel. My sine liked that she used it fir a sail.

Cute book, this is one I would have never read..."

I'm glad you liked it, Leslie! I really enjoyed it, too :-)

I was temporarily confused, when I saw that these posts were from 2011. But I am assuming you want nominations for this coming July. The following books were published in 2019 or 2018:

Sea Glass Summer
Day at the Beach
A Lullaby of Summer Things
Do Princesses Live in Sandcastles?
On Gull Beach
A Stone for Sascha
Bitty Bot's Big Beach Getaway

And from 2017, this is a more ocean-going journey, but one I loved:
The Antlered Ship

Sea Glass Summer (by Heidi Jane Stoddart, so different than Beverly's suggestion but with the same title)
Hello Lighthouse
The Specific Ocean
Return to the Sea
East to the Sea
Wave
Seaside Lullaby
Island in the Salish Sea
If Sharks Disappeared
West Coast Wild: A Nature Alphabet
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle
Coral Reefs
Night Of The Moonjellies
Mr. Hulot at the Beach
Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival
Garden of the Spirit Bear: Life in the Great Northern Rainforest

Yes, Beverly. Thanks for posting the new nominations. As I mentioned in the opening comment, the PBC did a similar theme back in 2011 and I wanted to keep a continuous list rather than two separate ones. I know so many of the books from the original list would still be great today but also so many great books fitting the theme have been published since 2011 and your post is a great example of that :-)

Kathryn wrote: "Yes, Beverly. Thanks for posting the new nominations. As I mentioned in the opening comment, the PBC did a similar theme back in 2011 and I wanted to keep a continuous list rather than two separate..."

Maybe next time, make the title a bit clearer, as like Beverly, I was also confused but the earlier posting dates.

I apologize for the confusion. I was working through a migraine but wanted to get the thread ope. I realize now I should have made a second post at the bottom of the thread for clarity.

I hope it is clear to members now that

*this is a current thread accepting nominations on seaside picture books for July 2019*

Kathryn wrote: "I apologize for the confusion. I was working through a migraine but wanted to get the thread ope. I realize now I should have made a second post at the bottom of the thread for clarity.

I hope it..."

Kathryn, perhaps next time, just wait until the migraine is over and done with, as most of us totally would understand (especially those of us who also get migraines or tension headaches).

Do you often get migraines? They are such a pain (no pun intended).

Thank you, Gundula. They certainly are a pain. I get them more the older I get :-(

By the way, you mentioned about making the title clearer. I have it as July 2019 and mention in the opening thread about the prior nominations from 2011 so is there something else to make it clearer?

Kathryn wrote: "Thank you, Gundula. They certainly are a pain. I get them more the older I get :-(

By the way, you mentioned about making the title clearer. I have it as July 2019 and mention in the opening threa..."

I think my confusion was in retrospect more with regard to the posts having 2011 dates until I realised that this was indeed the nomination thread for June 2019.

Oh, okay. Thanks to you and Beverly for helping me clarify! :-)

I'm from New England. Just about every book is about the ocean! I'll see if I can find some general ones at the boutique toy store. I know the library will likely have a whole section on them.

Good Night Rhode Island
Good Night Massachusetts
Good Night Cape Cod
are not likely to be widely available but they're on the shelves of every kid and tourist shop.

One Morning in Maine is a classic New England tale.

Hattie and the Wild Waves: A Story From Brooklyn
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles looks nice

I'll have to ask the nieces and nephews for their recommendations.

QNPoohBear wrote: "I'm from New England. Just about every book is about the ocean! I'll see if I can find some general ones at the boutique toy store. I know the library will likely have a whole section on them."

Ahhh, I'm jealous! ;-) I love the ocean and it is one of the things I miss sooo much now that we are in a landlocked state. I'm so glad this theme was chosen and am looking to my vicarious visits to the seaside through these picture books next month.

I can't stand the ocean but when I lived in Washington, DC, it felt weird to NOT be able to just go off to the beach and cool off in the ocean breezes. Mostly living near the ocean causes summer tourists and extra traffic.

The museums in the area sell the following books
101 Questions About the Seashore
A Walk on the Beach: Into the Field Guide
Good Night Beach
Good Night Ocean
Hello, Cape Cod! (see also Hello, Rhode Island! which will undoubtedly include the ocean)
C is for Cape Cod
Hello Ocean
It's a Seashell Day
Journey around Cape Cod and the Islands Cookbook
S Is for Sea Glass: A Beach Alphabet
Sally Goes to the Beach
Seashore
Seashore Stroll: A Whispering Words Book
Seaside Dream about a Cape Verdean family-very rare to see in local lit

These Seas Count!

Sailing the Unknown: Around the World with Captain Cook

Deep Underwater

Voyage to the Pharos

Beach House

Beach Feet

Hello Ocean

Wave

A Beach Tail

Grandma Summer

Out of the Ocean

Thank you for the nominations. It is now time to VOTE for the seven books you would like to read with the group in July. Please choose from the official nominations (books listed beginning with message 2 through message 49) and post your selections in a comment below. Votes will be accepted until June 23rd. Thank you!