{mosimage] "I'm going to the beach. I've got my goggles and snorkel, my bucket and spade, my flippers, my trunks and my big yellow float..."

To some children, being stuck indoors because of bad weather is the worst imaginable thing. ‘To The Beach’ is about one such child, who is all ready for a trip to the seaside but cannot go because of the rain (his little face peeping out the window on the first page is almost heart-breaking). Luckily, this character is armed with the power of imagination and is able to take himself off on a great voyage despite being unable to leave his own house. The young boy, whose name we don’t discover, lists all the things he will need for a great adventure at the beach: how he will get there (by camel, naturally), what he will do when he’s there, how he will get home and, most importantly, where he will go on his next exciting journey.

There is very little by way of written story in this book but, due to the illustrations, there is plenty to discuss, and occupy an inquisitive child. The landscapes and seascapes are vast and wild, and look as though they could go on forever. This is a captivating book about boundless imagination.

2009-07-02