Uh-Oh!

PreS—Two toddlers play at the beach while their mothers lounge nearby reading. After unloading the car and setting up their chairs and umbrella, the moms allow the sun suit-clad girl and boy to take their pail and shovels to the shore. The first "Uh-oh!" happens when the girl's oversized spectacles slip off her face and into a puddle. The boy pushes his tippy cup into a mound of sand, and the children add the glasses and other embellishments to make a sand castle face. Small adventures involving a seagull, collecting shells, the wind blowing off the boy's hat, a wayward crab, a slide, and finally a big wave that splashes over the friends elicit more "Uh-ohs." This essentially wordless story is illustrated with smudgy looking pencil sketches colored digitally in soft pastel shades. Lots of white space surrounds the episodic drawings. Although nothing dramatic happens, this easy-to-follow story offers a pleasant recollection of a simple day at the beach.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT