From Publishers Weekly
Wright-Frierson's (A Desert Scrapbook) love of nature and talent as a watercolorist shine forth in this peaceful portrait of life on a barrier island off the coast of southern North Carolina. During their last week of vacation on the island, the artist narrator and her daughter rise at dawn to paint the sunrise over the salt marsh. They then walk past mudflats, through a lush maritime forest to a rainwater pond and over grass-covered sand dunes to the ocean beach. Along the way, the pair spies fiddler crabs, a heron, pelicans, egrets and bottlenose dolphins. With an assemblage of pencil sketches, spot drawings, simulated photos and hand-written notes, the double-page spreads indeed have the look of a scrapbook. Flashbacks (to a summer hurricane, to an unexpected visit by an alligator) add a dash of action to the sleepy text, which occasionally meanders (as when the narrator recalls discovering false teeth on the sand and comments, "I have heard of people losing them overboard when they get seasick"). The author issues some environmental warnings (e.g., Amy makes a list of "things that wreck the beach"), and the book offers inviting ideas about creating art and crafts from found beach objects. But the graceful graphics are the real standout and are what readers will remember most about their island tour. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3?Another splendid picture book by the author and illustrator of A Desert Scrapbook (S & S, 1996), this time focusing on a North Carolina barrier island. Perfectly suited to being read aloud, the first-person narrative describes what Wright-Frierson and her young daughter observe during a September day spent exploring the island where they spend the summer. Torn-out notebook pages containing snippets of information; sketches and paintings of plants and wildlife; and photolike pictures alternate with scenes of the mother and daughter walking on the beach, lunching on the dock, and gazing out at the open ocean. The accurately rendered, muted watercolors and pencil drawings on glossy paper present a vivid portrait of island ecology and convey the author's keen sense of observation. The combination of text and artwork gives readers an appealing picture of barrier island plant and animal life, both on the dunes and in the maritime forest. A carefully detailed look at a unique ecosystem, sensitively described and beautifully rendered.?Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
