At The Boardwalk Review

One of Selena’s favorite books she received from Tiger Tales was At The Boardwalk by Kelly Ramsdell Fineman, illustrations by Monica Armino. I must admit it is probably my favorite book as well, I think that is because it reminds me of my favorite childhood poem:

At the Sea-Side

By Robert Louis Stevenson

When I was down beside the sea

A wooden spade they gave to me

   To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.

In every hole the sea came up

   Till it could come no more.

Selena and I enjoyed reading this book together, as well as she enjoyed reading it independently. It’s poetic form was perfect for learning many of those uncommon or more difficult words. Selena compared the Boardwalk in this book to our beaches, and quickly came to the conclusion that our beaches do not have as much to offer as the Boardwalk in this book. Though I do believe she does not remember our trip to Ocean Shores, where the main street does have many things including a carousel. We both recommend this cute story for any child, the pictures are beautifully done and very eye catching.

As an extension I wanted Selena to build her own boardwalk. She chose a light tan for the boardwalk itself, and blue for the sea. My first thought was to get a little pattern work, and some math introducing 1/2 and 1/3. So I cut strips for her to form her boardwalk with.

After we discussed and played a bit with the different size strips so that Selena had a good feel of how the smaller ones could go together to become the same size as the whole strip, I turned her loose to create her boardwalk. She worked very hard until she felt her boardwalk was long enough. She then decided to add sand, seagulls and fog, which are all items found pictured and spoke of in the book.

Her final Boardwalk project. We reread the book a couple of times after this project while Selena pointed out the different things she incorporated into her picture.

I was given a copy of At The Boardwalk to review. I received no other compensation, the review is my own  honest opinion about this book.