The Book Basket: By the Sea

Books for June 2023

Hi everyone!

As June approaches, I hope you have plans to be by some water sometime soon! I am not usually a summertime beachgoer, as it tends to be too people-y for me, but I wish you well if you are. This month’s selections would be happy companions for warmer weather, if you’re by the ocean or not. Enjoy!

Wonder Walkers, Micha Archer. This has gorgeous illustrations! Two friends head out for a “wonder walk,” and ask whimsical questions about the world, like “Is fog the river’s blanket?” This is a nice example of taking notice of nature and enjoying it. A Caldecott honor winner.

One Morning in Maine, Robert McCloskey. If you know Sal from Blueberries for Sal, you’ll get to spend the morning with her in this one. She’s slightly older, about to lose a tooth, and wants to help Dad with the clams on the beach. This is a Caldecott honor book, and the illustrations are all done in black and white.

On Gull Beach, Jane Yolen. You know Jane Yolen from Owl Moon. Yolen is famous for her vivid, spare illustrations. This is a brief story of the gulls on Gull Beach and their chase after a starfish.

The Little Island, Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard. You know Margaret Wise Brown from Goodnight Moon. The Little Island won the Caldecott Medal in 1947. There are almost no people in this book! The main “character” is the island, as it experiences changes through the seasons. The illustrations are lovely.

Time of Wonder, Robert McCloskey. This is more abstract than One Morning in Maine. It chronicles a family’s time on vacation in Maine. They enjoy the water, the forest, and the sun until a hurricane comes up. It does a nice job of reminding us that the history of the world is big, and we are small. It won the Caldecott medal in 1958.

A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!