Great New Books

Here in Southern California, graduation parties are in full swing and beach weather has arrived. Whether or not you live anywhere near an ocean, nothing screams "summer" more than the thought of the sand and surf! Take a trip to the sea in one of these unique books...

RHINOS WHO SURF, by Julie Mammano (for ages 3-5) A bright picture book, with playful text, and even a surf lingo glossary! Hilarious!

WAVE by Suzy Lee. (ages 3-5) Discover with your child the sense of wonder that the ocean inspires through a little girl's day at the beach in this wordless picture book.

FLOTSAM by David Wiesner. Another beautiful wordless picture book. (ages 4 and up) A boy finds a camera at the beach and the film inside reveals fascinating underwater pictures as well as children around the world, so the boy takes his own picture and returns the camera to the sea where it will journey to another child. (Caldecott 2007)

BATS AT THE BEACH by Brian Lies. (ages 4-8) An unconvential beach story about bats visiting the beach in the moonlight. This fun picture book is full of stunning illustrations, revealing how the bats travel silently throught the night with picnic baskets, moon-tan lotion, and kites.

KERMIT THE HERMIT by Bill Peet (ages 5-8) Wonderful story told in rhyme (Dr. Seuss style) about a Hermit Crab. Kermit is a "selfish shellfish" who hoards all kinds of unnecessary things. He is saved from a near mishap by a boy and discovers the value of sharing. My kids asked for this story over and over. Mr. Peet was a top writer and illustrator for several of DISNEY'S animated films, before becoming a children's book author/illustrator in the 1960's.

HATTIE AND THE WILD WAVES, by Barbara Cooney (for ages 5-8) Read this picture book about a little girl who lives by the sea, off the New England Coast at the turn of the century. Her dream is to become an artist. You'll love the richly detailed paintings as much as your child will!

ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS, by Scott O'Dell (for ages 10-13) A 1961 Newbury Medal was awarded to this riveting novel. The book was inspired by the real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana, and her fight for survival on the island of San Nicholas, off the coast of Santa Barbara, CA. Definitely in our Top-Ten-Family-Favorites!

Do you have a favorite beach book?
You might also like Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha (click the title to read my past post.)

Scott O’Dell was born on May 23, 1898 in Los Angeles, Ca. While growing up, he traveled all around Southern California and was able to see and experience many different things. His family moved around a lot because his father was a railroad worker. When he was young, he loved being in the outdoors - especially swimming at the beach, where he could experience sea life.

Scott O’Dell attended several colleges: Occidental College in 1919, the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1920, Stanford University from 1920-21, and the University of Rome in 1925. He only took classes that interested him and helped him in his writing career. As an adult he had several different jobs before he became a writer...he was a Hollywood cameraman (and even worked on the film Ben Hur!)... during WWII, he served in the Air Force...and at one time he was even a rancher. O’Dell began writing both nonfiction and fiction books for adults in 1934. During the 1940s and 1950s he worked as a book columnist for the Los Angeles Mirror, as well as a book editor for the Los Angeles Daily News. He began writing children's books in the late 1950's.

"Married to children’s librarian Elizabeth O’Dell, who would be his lifelong supporter and first-reader for his books, Scott loved no group of people more than librarians—they read his books, they could tell him what children said, and they appreciated his stories. Although Island of the Blue Dolphins was published when Scott was in his sixties, he lived and wrote for another thirty years and crafted other superb novels: Zia; Black Star, Bright Dawn; The King’s Fifth; The Black Pearl. Always personally generous with the money from his books, Scott set up the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction to help other authors receive recognition for their efforts." - Anita Silvey

ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS (1961, Newbury Medal) Definitely in our Top-Ten-Family-Favorites, this book is based on the life of a real woman who lived alone on the island of San Nicolas, off the coast of California, from 1835 to 1853. She was named "Juana Maria" by a priest at the Santa Barbara Mission, who was with her when she died only seven weeks after she was rescued by George Nidever. She is buried in the S.B. Mission Cemetery.