Beach Day!

Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill decide it's so hot that they need to go to the beach. They get lost along the way and stop for a picnic and a long nap.

I acquired this book at the same time as Lakin's Beach Day and Rainy Day in the same loose "series" featuring the quartet of crocodiles. After being very disappointed with Rainy Day, I wasn't particularly hopeful about the other two. But Beach Day defied expectations somewhat. Some of my earlier criticisms remain - the illustrations are only so-so and sometimes the very brief text leaves something to be desired in terms of storytelling, making leaps that young readers might not get right away. I found that I did have to expand on the text a little bit with this one to explain what was going on, show more especially with the younger kids.

But that being said, I think the story here was able to be told with the relatively fewer words without suffering in gigantic gaps and thus was more understandable than Rainy Day. I also found that beginning readers enjoyed this book because they could read most of the words themselves with relative ease.

To be clear, I'm still not crazy about the Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill books, but this one I would at least consider using again, especially to discuss weather patterns and summer events/outdoor play (i.e., picnics, playgrounds, etc.). show less

I really enjoyed Beach Day because it brought up many concepts for nursery and primary school children. Not only are Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill trying to get to the beach, but also they happen to have a few breaks on the way. Many concepts are identified throughout the book, such as rhyming, beachwear, park toys, directions, food, and numbers/time. This book could be used in a classroom in many ways, all having to do with the concepts I listed before. The language is what kept me fully engaged but I also enjoyed the illustrations. The illustrations back up what the texts says which is good for a younger child who is learning these concepts. I also liked this book because it used alligators instead of people. So this book could also be show more used when introducing animals to young children. show less

Jake's Review: This book is for little kids not big kids like me.( Mom: Dude, this was your FAVORITE book 2 years ago, so don't get all snooty on me.) I liked the picture they were really funny! It rhymes but it doesn't have too much of a story. Are we done yet, I want to go play video games with Dad. Ok, this book would be really good for babies like Jesse and Mommy.
Rating: 8/10

Mom's Review: Beautiful little book for younger readers. Lots of colorful pictures and some easy rhyming text. This was one of Jake's favorites a couple of years ago. Hopefully Jesse will learn to sit still so that I can read it to him someday. Although I'm thinking maybe Jake and I can act it out for him, he would like that
Rating: 9/10

The gators get distracted on their way to the beach. Will they even make it? Par for the course with silly humor and a twist ending.

Beach Day! Is written by Patricia Lakin and pictures by Scott Nash. Sam, Pam, Will and Jill are headed to the beach. They bring swimsuits, sun hats, sun block and sunglasses. On the way they play at the park. They get lost and pedaled in a field of clover. They had a picnic and nap. They final make it to the beach but there was no umbrellas, no snack bar, no chairs, no people and no sun! They looked up and smiled and swam by the light of the moon.

This book is great for beginner readers. I loved the pictures. The works were simple. I like how they swam even though the sun was gone. The colors are bright and fun.

I would use this book in shared reading for kindergarten through second grade. This book would be great in the spring time, show more when it’s warm enough to go swimming. We could talk about time management. We would talk about how they had fun even in the moon light. This book would also be great for individual reading or buddy reading. show less

This simple silly story shows four friends who head to the beach on a hot day. Along the trip, they get distracted and play at a playground instead. Will they find the beach eventually? When they do, will it still be fun?

A cute book about an alligator family heading to the beach but they get lost. This book includes a lot of simple adjectives that describe the beach.
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