Just the other day, the (incredibly generous and in all ways marvelous) Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast put up a post rounding up some of her favorite summer-themed books, including At the Boardwalk, about which she had this to say:
Kelly Ramsdell Fineman’s At the Boardwalk, illustrated by Mónica Armiño (Tiger Tales, 2012), is for when you need a quick break from the “beach-time fun.”
“This sunny selection beckons,” write Kirkus. Families of all stripes in this tightly-written verse (quatrains with not a wasted word in sight) enjoy the sights and sounds of the boardwalk: strolls in the sun, ice cream, salt-air breezes, kite-flying, bubbles, popcorn, taffy, and way more. The spot-on pacing of Kelly’s text starts readers off slowly (”Life relaxes; time is free”), builds to a crescendo (with things like arcade games, a sudden downpour, and “jumbled joys”), and then winds down with a sunset, “one last ride” on the carousel (”Oompah music, sit astride”), and families holding each other close, “[s]leepy after evening fun….” Armiño’s super-saturated spreads are vivid and highly textured[.]
You can see the whole post here, including some other books that look absolutely fabulous.
But wait! There's more!
The good folks at IRA (the International Reading Association) also did a round-up of summer-related books on their blog, Reading Today Online, where a lovely library and reading consultant named Karen Hildebrand had this to say about At the Boardwalk:
Everyone enjoys a day at the beach and the fun of the boardwalk and that is exactly what this picture book debut by Kelly Fineman offers. The book starts with a jog in the morning and jumps right into all the activity that goes with arcade games, cotton candy, people in crowds and the bustle of boardwalk sights. We see all the employees busy at their jobs within the fun day in the sun. The sun-filled illustrations by Monica Armino portray the passage of the day as the sun moves from side to side through the book. Even a quick rainstorm allows for playing in the rain at the boardwalk. The simple language of rhyming verse takes readers through the fun all day.
You can read the entire post here, including eight other picture book selections as well as four middle-grade picks and two YA choices.
It's absolutely wonderful to see the book getting such attention!
- Current Mood:
overjoyed
- Current Music:Happy, happy, joy, joy
Comments
:)
Lovely icon - as usual!