Simms Taback Books - Beach Party!

School Library Journal Preschool readers are asked, "What kind of walking can you do today?" Thus starts a promenade of sea creatures that scoot, slither, dash, or slide across the pages. A lobster dances, a penguin flaps, and an octopus twists. Once all 11 animals are introduced, readers are invited to join them as they head for a swim. The words that describe the varied movements are then repeated as a horizontal list of action verbs. The rhyming text ends abruptly with a splash. This board book could entertain energetic toddlers or emerging readers. The cartoon illustrations are bright and simple. Two flat colors, mustard sand and sky blue, with an unsteady black horizon between them, form the backdrop for the parade. The smiling animals are broadly drawn with a thick black line, and their friendly demeanor will attract children.
Review by Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information

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Kirkus Reviews This play rhyme in board book form invites young listeners to sashay like a menagerie of marine life, each one with its own verb: "Can you walk like a penguin? FLIP-FLAP-FLAP! / Slide like a slithering seal? SLIP-SLAP-SLAP!" Taback depicts the animals in characteristic cartoon style, placing them against a clear blue backdrop and all heading, as it turns out, for a swim. A colorful way to get audiences not quite up to the Method exercises in Jean Marzollo's Pretend You're a Cat, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (1990), off their duffs to "Walk . . . Slither . . . Dash . . . " "Dance . . . Scoot . . . Splash!"

Scooting, slithering, flapping
and twisting!

What kind of walking can you do today? Can you scoot like a crab? Bend like a starfish? Fly like a seagull looking for a fish?

A new additional to this successful series of board books, Beach Party! invites readers to join the parade of animals and imitate their sounds as they all head to the beach. This wonderful rhyming text will delight children of all ages. They will surely want to jump to their feet and move!

—from the Publisher