summer reading for kids

These 3 books make wonderful holiday reading for kids. They accompany us to the beach every year. It's good to see that 2 of them are by Australian authors!

Pamela Allen Grandpa and Thomas

I bought this for my son Thomas the moment I saw it, because it describes so well his relationship with his beloved Pa. It's a gently illustrated, gently told story for toddlers and preschoolers, about a grandfather and his grandson Thomas.

They spend a day at the beach, splashing through the surf, munching sandwiches under a green umbrella, decorating a sandcastle, and wriggling their hands through it to find each others' fingers (remember the joy of doing that as a child?).

As they walk to the beach, Thomas independently carries his bucket and spade; by the end, Grandpa carries everything home including Thomas, while the tide comes in and washes their sandcastle away. And all to the repeated refrain, which sighs like the waves through the pages: "Splish, splosh, splash sings the sea".

Alison Lester Magic Beach

I dearly love children's books which describe the wonders created by a child's imagination - and this is one of the best.

One page depicts, in rhyming words and a beautifully detailed picture, one of the wonders of a beachside holiday: splashing through the waves, building a sandcastle, searching for stones and shells washed up by the tide.

Turn the page, and it shows a smaller, round picture, like a peephole into the imagination of a child experiencing each of these wonders: sea horses thundering towards the land, a castle complete with prince and princess, an overflowing treasure chest. I love to celebrate and encourage my children's imaginations, and this book does it with me.

Shirley Hughes The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook

Anyone who's read any of Shirley Hughes's books has probably fallen in love with them - especially the ones about Alfie and Annie Rose. Alfie is a loving and loveable preschooler, Annie Rose his toddler sister.

Scruffy haired and rosy cheeked, they enjoy all the normal childhood experiences: arranging soggy cornflakes around a bowl, setting up shop in the backyard, putting boots on the wrong feet, going to the school fair.

One of my favourite Alfie stories is the last one in this book. Do you remember finding that perfect childhood treasure, a smooth, round stone which fitted exactly into the palm of your hand? This is the story of how Alfie's special stone, Bonting, is found, lost among the anonymous stones at the beach, and found again. Perfect beachside reading.