The Seashore Book (Paperback)

by Charlotte Zolotow (Author), Wendell Minor (Illustrator) "What is the seashore like?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A boy's mother describes the shore in what PW termed "tactile, vivid and musical images"; watercolors "evoke place with imaginative accuracy and visual grace." Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A young boy who lives in the mountains and has never seen the sea, asks his mother to describe it. From there, Zolotow carefully chooses her words to create a poem full of the colors, sounds, and sights of a day at the beach. The verbal description is firmly framed within oceans of white space on the left and matched by the equally well-crafted gouache and watercolor paintings on the right. Minor's softly detailed photoreal renderings use the perspective of a gull to capture the vastness of the sea and sky as well as that of sandpipers running along the shore to denote precision of movement. Zolotow's words are so descriptive that the paintings seem almost redundant. They do work together to reinforce the gentle mood of the quiet story so that readers, like the boy, can close their eyes and be there too. --Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064433641
• ISBN-13: 978-0064433648
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,829 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely, Lyrical Book!, May 26, 2004

By	Lynn (New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Seashore Book (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my children shortly after we spent the summer in a beach house on Hatteras Island, NC. This book completely captures the essence of a day there . . . or on any seashore for that matter. It immediately became one of my children's favorite books as the prose is so evocative and the illustrations so lovely. Seven years later, it is still one of their all-time favorites. Mine, too! Over the years, I have given many copies of "The Seashore Book" as gifts and have received nothing but rave reviews from parents and children. I've just ordered another copy from Amazon to give as a new baby gift. You see, this book is truly timeless.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisitely written and illustrated, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seashore Book (Hardcover)

In The Seashore Book, Charlotte Zolotow creates an image of a day at the seashore so clearly that a reader could almost hear the seagulls and feel the ocean breeze caress the face. Zolotow chooses the perfect words to describe the sights and sounds of the seashore. When she describes the lighthouse "golden gleam on, golden gleam gone" the reader can easily imagine a summer evening on Cape Hatteras with a golden light shining out to sea. The illustrations are no less impressive. One can almost feel the sun warming the skin and the sand rubbing against your toes. I often give the book as a baby gift. It is one that you could share with a child over and over or enjoy yourself when you need a reminder of sun and sand on a dreary winter day.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book with imagination, February 15, 2001

A Kid's Review

I liked The Seashore Book because the mother and her son used their imagination almost always. The boy had never seen the ocean so he imagined the sea. His mother tells the boy about the sea. Charlotte Zolotow creates very good mind pictures. It almost feels like you're there.