The Beach
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Sol Undurraga
Translated from the Spanish by Kit Maude
A day at the beach, from dawn to dusk: the award-winning Chilean illustrator Sol Undurraga shares her vision of life at a seaside town. From the fishermen and women who head out to sea at five in the morning to the bathers packing the beach at four in the afternoon, every page is a gorgeous new adventure full of fun creatures both real and imaginary. Undurraga’s striking illustrations, accompanied by brief, evocative texts, bring to life the idiosyncrasies and dynamics of a beach in Latin America … or anywhere in the world. This captivating celebration of summertime is the English-language debut of Undurraga and a beautiful, summery gift for readers of all ages.
Winner of the Opera Prima Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Italy, 2018
Green Island Award, Nami Concours, South Korea, 2019
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ISBN: 978-1-7347839-4-0
9.25” (W) x 12.08” (H) • 32 pages • Hardcover
$ 19.95
REVIEWS
★“People and animals, both realistic and imaginary, enjoy the beach throughout a long day in summer. From the early morning crew going out to fish, to sunbathers and swimmers in the bright of day, to the late night denizens, this undulating shoreline is the setting for many activities that are a delight to explore. Brief text on each double page spread indicates the time of day, but the fun is in examining the pink, yellow and brown people and animals and their joyful use of the beach. People are mostly faceless, with funny blobs of hair. Some animals are clothed and others are not, but they seem to have equal footing with humans in this world…a variety of body types and couple pairings.
The striking palette of matte blue, yellow, red and brown/gray evokes a summer/nautical vibe.Readers will enjoy examining the activities of the pinheaded, blobby haired people - there's a supernaturally tall guy with extraordinarily long legs sunning himself in his BVDs, an animal water skier pulled by a boat with people in it, a guy peeing on a buoy, as well as a hairy monster among the sunbathers and a dog walking a crocodile on a leash. What fun to enter the singular world of this whimsical beach and its denizens!” —STARRED REVIEW, Youth Services Book Review