This Beach Is Loud!

April 15, 2019
A young child gets excited about an upcoming beach trip with Dad, but when they arrive, the beach proves to be louder and more overwhelming than anticipated. It's beach day! This energetic tyke cannot wait to wake Dad up and hit the road. The drive is full of excitement, anticipation, and questions, but as soon as they park, it all "looks...busy...." All kinds of people are everywhere! They are digging and stomping and splashing and just being loud. And the sand gets everywhere. The once-eager protagonist isn't sure if a beach day is so great after all. It's "ouchy and sticky and bumpy and scratchy," but Dad knows how to give his youngster the tools to refocus so they can enjoy their day out. The text bubbles with onomatopoeia even as it teaches readers ways to cope when in a new space that feels overwhelming. The illustrations--drawn in ink and charcoal and colored with block print--are bright and cheerful, depicting dad and protagonist with light brown skin and straight, black hair. Text is incorporated inventively, at times occupying huge swaths of space to convey the child's excitement and then agitation. Especially designed for kids with sensory-processing issues, the book has broad applicability beyond that audience. Everyone can feel affected by a new scenario, and this book will reassure children that they can overcome their anxieties and have a beautiful day at the beach. (Picture book. 4-6)

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June 3, 2019
Making her debut as author-illustrator, Cotterill launches her Little Senses series of picture books featuring children on the autism spectrum or experiencing sensory challenges. A boy eagerly prepares for a day at the beach with his father—but when they arrive, he feels overwhelmed: the beach is busy, noisy, and full of sand. (“Daddy, I don’t like the beach and I want to go home. The sand is ouchy and sticky and bumpy and scratchy.”) In Cotterill’s block print, ink, and charcoal art, the boy is surrounded by an explosion of sound words that illustrate his response to various environmental factors. By portraying the child’s experience without labels, she allows readers to freely see themselves in his reactions to the stimulating world around him—and to potentially emulate his strategies for handling sensory overload. Also available: Nope, Never, Not for Me! Ages 3–7.

Starred review from June 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 1-In this much-needed new series, author/illustrator Cotterill shows the excitement and challenges of going to the beach for the first time. Wearing his snorkel mask, a young boy is packed and ready for a day at the shore with his father. At the beach they seek a spot to set up their day camp. On their way, the itchiness of the sand and the surrounding noises becomes overwhelming for the young boy, but soon, after being able to soothe himself with a couple of techniques, he is able to play. Many children will be able to identify with the stresses of a new experience, and Cotterill, on the spectrum herself, has deliberately left this open-ended so any child with sensory processing disorder (SPD) and/or autism can identify with the experiences represented in the book. Ink, charcoal, and block print offer composition and texture capturing the beauty of the day. Overlapping text helps distill the feeling of certain senses being overwhelmed. Throughout the book, she subtly shows tools the family uses to prep for new experiences and for when things become overstimulating, paving the way for dialogic reading and conversations for readers whether they're neurodiverse or neurotypical. VERDICT This charismatic and essential read-aloud will fill a hole that has been too long ignored in library and storytime collections.-Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR

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