The Boy on the Beach

From Publishers Weekly Daly (Jamela's Dress, reviewed below) summons the sights and sounds of a summertime outing through sun-washed watercolors and keenly tuned language. A boy and his parents arrive at the shore, where it's "hot as sun-melted tar in the beach parking lot," and soon little Joe is frolicking happily in the sand and water. Venturing beyond the high dunes, he loses sight of his parents and panics, but a lifeguard finds him and carries him piggyback to the Lost and Found, where his mother and father await. The prose is packed with descriptions that appeal to the senses, from a lifeguard "cool as a coke and copper-tanned" to sand dunes that "rise like monster waves," and slips easily into casual rhyme (e.g., "Sandy toes... sun-cream nose... camera smileAclick! And off he goes..."; "castle bashing, sea-pool splashing, surf crashingAwet, wet, wet..."). The spreads sprawl like a beach towel, with generous white space that mimics the bright sunshine of a peak summer day. Daly maintains a rigorous visual pace by varying broad vistas of busy seashore activity with close-ups, such as Joe "kangaroo jumping" down the shore. He perfectly represents the sheer glee that blossoms at the prospect of a fun-filled day of sun, sand and surf. Ages 3-7. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal PreSchool-KWhen a young black child exhibits fear and hesitation at the seashore, his parents hold his hands and take him into the water to feel the waves. The boy then runs off on his own across the crowded beach until he finds an old boat nestled among the dunes. In it, he has an imaginary adventure, begins to feel lost and alone, is rescued by a lifeguard, and is returned safely to his mom and dad. Dalys watercolor illustrations are cheerfully energetic in depicting the vibrant colors of the busy beach, the sprightliness of little Joe (whose name is revealed only on the last page when he writes it in the sand), and his parents carefree enjoyment of the day. Text and varied page design work together, as double-page spreads with unrhymed narrative are interspersed with spreads containing individual images and brief staccato rhyming text. Combined, they reinforce the mood and vary the pace. It seems worth noting, in this otherwise ebullient tale of a family outing, that adults in many beach communities may not be as sanguine about a preschooler who runs off into a crowd and is rewarded with a smile and an ice cream.Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.