Magic Beach [Import] [Hardcover]

Alison Lester (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin; Mini Ed edition (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174175268X
• ISBN-13: 978-1741752687
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,872,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHERE MAGIC MEETS REALITY - SEASIDE FANTASIES, May 10, 2001

By 

"hurburgh" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Beach (Hardcover)

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A rhyming story line in a child's picture book seldom works well. They often seem so contrived and sometimes downright corny.

Not so in Alison Lester's << Magic Beach >>. This book deserves the status of a classic in contemporary children's literature. In fact, the book is regularly listed in the Best Seller lists in Australia, where the author resides. ...

All children love the freedom and fun of a trip to the beach. Alison transports us to one of the childhood's favourite playground, that place where the land meets the sea. The real joys of beachside fun are joined with pleasurable and harmless seaside fantasies.

On alternate pages, we are taken from beautiful realities to even more captivating fantasies. We go from a scene with a sparkling sea to an exciting world where we can ride waves pretending they are "wild white horses". We go from sandcastle building to a land of fire breathing dragons. We explore rock-pools and their magic world of starfish and crabs, and then go to an evenmore magic Kingdom where we can ride seahorses.

The beach is still magic when it's a cloudy and gray day, our imaginations will help us discovered a treasure chest. We can go boating in the safety of bay, and then let the wind and our fantasies take us to the "edge of the world".

We fish and laze on the jetty, and in our daydreams, we catch a monstrous shark.

It is now evening-time, we are toasting marshmallows around the glowing fire, and in the shadows, there may be smugglers hauling in crate-loads of booty.

It's time for bed, and to the sounds of the ocean, we drift off to sleep on the evening tide.

This is a fabulous book which has universal and popular appeal. Let's see if we can get it back on the publisher's lists in the US. It deserves the widest audience possible.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Aussie summer, May 1, 2000

By 

saliero (NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Beach (Hardcover)

Not O/P in Australia - available in many book shops.

This is a lovely book. It depicts various activities throughout the day at the beach, from building sand castles falling asleep at night within sound of the ocean.

Each double page describes a time and activity (the verse is a little bit inferior to the pics). The subsequent double page has an imagined fantasy activity.

I give this 5 stars for the illustrations, 4 for the text.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for children 3 to 7 years old, May 11, 2009

By 

Lauren M. Burke - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic Beach (A Little ark book) (Hardcover)

One of my children's favorite books. It is written by an Australian author, and isn't always easy to track down in the USA, so grab it if you can. A story in rhyme that is part reality, and part fantasy about children at the beach with their friends and cousins. Beautifully illustrated with a simple but textured story.