In spite of a rainy day a young boy has many adventures. Striking images will appeal to kids as they imagine their own adventures. ( )

I loved this. I went with four stars instead of five, but I really can't say why. Fantastic illustrations; they remind me of Marla Frazee's, who I also love.

A young boy, all dressed up for the beach - with goggles and snorkel, bucket and shovel, flippers, and big yellow inner-tube all at the ready - stares out the window at the pouring rain. Some would be discouraged, but the boy knows that all he needs, in order to get to a sunny beach, is the right transportation. And so begins a fantastic journey of the imagination, as the boy finds himself taking a rather circuitous route to his destination...

A delightful summertime picture-book for the very young child, Thomas Docherty's To the Beach was originally published in the UK in 2007, and only released here in the United States this past April. With a simple narrative that keeps the action moving forward, and whimsical watercolor illustrations that emphasize the exuberant fun of the story, this is sure to be a hit with young beach-goers everywhere! ( )

It’s a rainy day, but this little boy is ready to go to the beach. He’s got his goggles and snorkel, his flippers and bathing suit, his bucket and shovel, and of course, his big yellow inner tube. Looking out the window, he imagines what else he’d need to get to the beach. An airplane, a sailboat, a truck, a camel! After frolicking on the beach, he hops on a tanker, a helicopter, a bike, and a tractor and finally he’s home. But where will he go next?

The watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations are the focal point of this sundrenched book. Each mode of transportation takes the boy into a new landscape from the lush green jungle forests to the icy plains of Antarctica. The boy always travels left to right propelling the reader forward to each page turn. The illustrations also give clues to the reader about the next mode of transportation. The text is minimal. After the boy begins his journey, most pages simply state the name of the transportation he’s traveling on.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/07/book-211-to-beach-by-thomas-docherty...