It’s hot outside this summer.  Really hot.  So what better way to cool off than inside with a good book about the beach?


Books We Shared

 

While the Antarctic might not be the first place you would look to for a story about the beach, our friend Penguin, who is tired of being so cold, needs a vacation.  In the charming Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon, Penguin sets sail north to find a beach.  And while it isn’t exactly as his imagined it, with the help of his new friend crab, he realizes the beach is a great place.  But all vacations have to come to an end — and how will Penguin bear to leave Crab behind?  Maybe he doesn’t have to…

Later we read about 4 gators who want to spend a hot day at the beach in Beach Day by Patricia Lakin with pictures by Scott Nash.  As the friends make their way to the shore they find a lot of fun on the way — will they ever make it to the beach?


Flannelboard Stories

You may see some people fishing when you go visit the beach.  We sure did with our flannelboard story, The Fish with the Deep Sea Smile based on a poem written by Margaret Wise Brown.  (Yes, the same Margaret Wise Brown who wrote Goodnight Moon!)  If you want to see the poem, you can find it in this book in our collection.

 

Fish with the Deep Sea Smile Flannelboard cropped

 


Movements

Try these fun rhymes at home with your child!

Sand Castle
Sand castle on the beach,
I built you big and strong (raise arms high)
A wave washed in upon the sand.
Whoosh! You were gone (swing hands down, then up)
(taken from PreK Fun)

“This is the Way We Play at the Beach”
(to tune of: “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”)

This is the way we play at the beach
Play at the beach, play at the beach
This is the way we play at the beach
On a hot sunny day.

Other verses:
This is the way we dig in the sand…
This is the way we play in the surf…
This is the way we lie in the sun…
Any other activity that your child comes up with!
(taken from PreK Fun)


Movie We Watched

We joined Max, Ruby, and a pinchy friend as they built a tidal pool “Getting Crappy at the Beach” from the DVD Perfect Pumpkin.


Continue the Fun

Still want more beach books?  Check these out at your local Pasadena Public Library branch.