Turtle and Snake's Day at the Beach

July 1, 2003
K-Gr 2-Upon arriving at the seashore, Turtle and Snake notice a sign for a sand-castle contest and decide to enter it. They build one, and then go surfing. When they come back, their construction is gone. They build a second time, and even a third time with the help of assorted friends in order to meet the deadline. Snake and Turtle have personality and their story weaves a simple message of friendship and the value of persistence and teamwork. Brightly colored, simple drawings capture the pleasure of this fun-in-the-sun day at the beach and give visual clues for words like umbrella, pails, shovels, and surfboards. Repetition ("dig, dig, dig" and "pat, pat, pat") provides practice for simple words, and the three o'clock deadline and clock illustrations allow youngsters to hone their time-telling skills. This sixth story about Turtle and Snake will be a hit with those who already know and love these friends, and is sure to make them some new fans. It's difficult to find easy-to-read books that have charm and a real story, and this one does.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2003
K-Gr. 1. This fifth entry in the Turtle and Snake saga from the Viking Easy-to-Read series is set at the beach. In anticipation of a sand castle contest, the friends try their hands (in Snake's case, his tail) at building, but waves wipe their creations away. As the contest draws nigh, it's up to friends to help the reptiles build something that will last. The wordplay is simple and repetitive (dig, dig, dig; pat, pat, pat), but there's enough going on--surfing, sand building--to make the elementary art viable and to hold kids' attention. The ending, in which everyone gets a prize, seems just right.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)