How Will We Get to the Beach?

How Will We Get to the Beach?

by Brigitte Luciani
Illustration by Eve Tharlet

One beautiful summer day Roxanne decides to go to the beach. She loads up the car with everything she wants to take with her: the turtle, the umbrella, the book of wonderful stories, the ball, and, of course, her baby. But the car won't start. Undaunted, Roxanne decides to take the bus to the beach. But something can't go on the bus. Whenever Roxanne comes up with a new way to get to the beach she discovers she must leave something behind-and children will have great fun guessing just what's missing each time.

This is an extremely cute book that follows a mother and child as they attempt to take a trip to the beach. The story becomes a guessing game about what must be left behind on the way to their destination. The story is straightforward and simple, and the artwork evokes the feelings of a summer's day.

The book is full of questions that children will want to explore. The questions will encourage them to investigate the contents of the story and to be more engaged in the plot. It builds observational skills and also provides a lot of great lessons in counting and colors.

My niece Emily loves to play along with the story. The pictures always make her laugh, particularly when the mother ties a turtle to her head with a ribbon. When Emily and I read it, she gets very excited when she guesses correctly. The guessing lengthens her attention span and enables her to become more involved in the story.

--Eve