A review by kindleandilluminate
Seaside Stroll by Charles Trevino

4.0

Seaside Stroll is a really lovely picture book, but the artwork is the star for me. Despite the author's note at the end explaining every detail of the word choices (which feels somehow trying too hard to explain itself), the text didn't totally work for me - it's meant to be alliterative, sensory and evocative, but the interchangeable use of a soft S and SH underminded the alliterative effect, and some of the words didn't totally make sense to me, like the inclusion of "shoulder" in one line. With such sparse, poetic text, it should really speak for itself, and not require this kind of explanatory note.

That being said, it would still be fun to read aloud with a very young child, and the illustrations are definitely worth it - expressive figures, beautiful sea-washed color palette, and richly textured images of the shore, sea, and sky are sure to make this a family favorite for many.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for the advance review copy!