Hello Ocean

This is a delightful book in so many ways. The sea, or ocean, as seen through the eyes, ears, nose, taste and feel of a little girl, a child, and which is probably the best pay to view anything in nature, i.e. through a child's preception. Children see so much more than most adults. This is part of the wonder of this book, as it takes you back to the time when you were this little girls age. The illustrations are wonderfully done (it is difficult to distinguish some of the art from actual photographs) and fits the text perfectly. Their has been much research put into this book and their are an amazing amount of facts given in just a few pages. This is a great one to read to the class as it give plenty of opportunity on each page for discussion. It is also a great one for the children to just browse through, something I see all the time in class during thier free reading time. This is a book that should be in all school libraries, and indeed, your children's library at home. Highly recommend this one.

I received my copy when I purchased the Mother Goose preschool curriculum to homeschool my daughter. This book has quickly become her new favorite. She remembers the beach vacation we took in the summer and she particularly loves spotting the seagulls, having seen Finding Nemo recently. As the one who reads it to her every night, I like that it has few words on each page and gorgeous, realistic illustrations. It should definitely hold the beach-loving youngster's attention. I highly recommend it.

This is the book (among others) I always give away at 1 and 2 year old birthday parties. I also gave it to my 4.5 year old nephew (who is developmentally delayed - he does not speak) and it turned out to be his favorite among the ones I gave him. My 2 year memorized the words and used to ask for it every night before bed. The illustrations are so realistic and beautiful. The pictures look like painted photographs and capture the beauty of a day at the beach. It's like visiting the ocean every time you open it. Whenever I am at the bookstore, I take it off the shelf and leave it out on display so people can see it. That is how I found it.

This wonderful picture book of a day at the ocean is mesmerizing. Reminding me of my childhood with my family in New England...the illustrations captured the feeling with such emotion, they look identical to loving photographs. Any child reading this book or having it read to them, will be in awe of their day at the ocean...or at least imagining their day at the ocean..

I picked up this book because of my love for the ocean and because the little girl on the cover resembled my granddaughter. It did take a few pages for me to realize that "the 5 of us" referred to the five senses, but other than that the story of the ocean is timeless and sweet. And yes, the little girl resembles my granddaughter, and maybe that's why I think the girl's facial expressions are so delightful and true-to-life. The artist, Mark Astrella, is very observant in a photographic sort of way and the reality of the pictures makes the book seem even more real.