The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow with illustrations by
Wendell Minor has been redesigned for its 25th Anniversary and the
results are splendid in this celebration of a children’s classic.
This gentle story begins with a young boy’s question. “What is
the seashore like?” In response, his mother suggests they pretend to leave
their mountain home and make a visit. Beginning in the early morning, as the
misty sky grades from gray to pale purple to hazy blue, we follow mother and
son as they build sand castles, delight in finding a white gull’s feather,
sleep to the rising and falling song of waves, watch sand crabs squaggling at
their toes, and finally make their way home as a glowing orange sun dips into
the sea.
Zolotow creates a beautiful word picture that leads the
child, and in turn the reader, through an extraordinary experience that
delights the senses with lyrical language – “cold water makes your skin feel
like peppermint.”; “The swish-swashing sound of [waves]”; “the lighthouse is
flashing golden gleam on, golden gleam gone.”
Minor’s richly colored artwork is spare and precise, drawing
attention to the heart of the text.
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