Reviews
School Library Journal
In this follow-up to Bebé Goes Shopping (Harcourt, 2006), Salerno joyfully blends 1950s advertising-style illustrations in vivid gouache and watercolors with colored inks and pencils. Elya rhymes through a day at the beach with bilingual Bebé and his "muy bonita Mamá." She cheerfully trails after the active boy as he plays, digs, picnics, chases a ball, and tries out a surfboard sand sculpture. At the end, the sweet toddler gives Mom a respite by napping under an umbrella. A 36-word glossary assists, though context clues keep things rolling. Elya's writing is as lively as her hero: "The rolling white olas are foamy and loud./Bebé waddles after them, right through the crowd./Mamá's coming, too; she remembered the lotion-/he squeals as his toes hit the icy-cold ocean." Not just for students of Spanish, this merry exploration provides wholesome fun for anyone who enjoys the beach, or mischievous babies.
-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 11, 2008
If Bebé could turn a trip to the supermercado into an adventure, (Bebé Goes Shopping. BCCB 6/06), imagine what he can do at the seashore. Again, the huge-headed, springy-haired dynamo is one step ahead of his long-suffering but sweet-tempered mother, making a beeline for the waves, dumping sand on Mamá's belly, tasting the seaweed (¡Mala!), crushing a fragile surfboard entry in a sand sculpture contest. Bebé may think he's on the loose, but Mamá is always there to catch him up in her protective arms and settle him down – albeit temporarily—with a kiss. His antics transpire into a smoothly scanning verse, the poetry heavily packed with bold-faced Spanish terms. Lots of bright colors and curvy lines pump up the energy level, and red figure outlining adds some subtle spice. A comprehensive glossary with pronunciations is appended for readers in need of a linguistic cheat sheet, and luscious, leggy, doe-eyed Mamá may entice Daddy to volunteer for extra read-aloud time. -- EB
Enterprise, Hickory Ridge Reader, June 11, 2008
Bebé Goes to the Beach, the follow-up to Bebé Goes Shopping, Mamá and Bebé spend a day at the beach. Bebé keeps things hopping with energy and curiosity. Spanish words embedded in the English text are for the most part decipherable through the pictures and context. After a few readings, youngsters will be able to read both English and Spanish words. The glossary in the back of the book gives both the meaning and the pronunciation of each Spanish word. I wish you as much fun in the sun as Mamá and Bebé enjoy in Bebé Goes to the Beach. Good reading. -- Wilma Snyder
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