Monster Beach [Paperback]

Betty Paraskevas (Author), Michael Paraskevas (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

A boy and his grandfather, spending a day at the beach, are astonished when a sea monster comes to the aid of three naughty little boys who get caught in the rough surf. By the author and illustrator of Shamlanders.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Best known for their Junior Kroll collaborations, this mother-son duo venture to the seaside with a bright but hollow bauble of a picture book. Fishing on the beach, a boy spies a huge polka-dotted sea monster. The monster does not reappear until later in the day, when a set of unruly triplets seeks refuge in the water after snatching an old man's hat. The three are promptly swept out to sea, where they are rescued by the "monster"-which turns out to be an inflatable beach raft. Michael Paraskevas's dazzling acrylics mirror a spectrum of emotion, from the anticipatory glee of happy vacationers to the ominous scene where the boys are adrift and the monster, as yet unidentified, lurks menacingly. Unfortunately, the thin story doesn't rally the reader, and the verse is irritatingly ragged at times. A sappy ending overdoes it in lauding the monster "who brought us together and taught us to care,/ With respect for each other, in a place we all share." Despite the hot colors and pulsating energy of the illustrations, the venture is ultimately as limp as the deflated raft. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3?The quiet calm of a seaside evening is broken by a monstrous shape looming on the horizon. Morning's light reveals it to be nothing more than a large, inflatable toy?or is it? When notoriously terrible triplets swim too far out they seem doomed, until that same fiendishly grinning, red-and-yellow polka-dotted "toy" brings them safely ashore?with disastrous (though not permanent) consequences for his own skin. Michael Paraskevas's acrylics abound in primary colors and overblown forms, striking just the right note of whimsy and holiday frivolity. Readers with a high tolerance for iambic tetrameter will find this a pleasurably inane, light, summer romp.?Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback
• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books (J); 1st edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152928820
• ISBN-13: 978-0152928827
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,664,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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