A Day at the Beach by Johnni Gorges

Inspired by and dedicated to their daughter, authors Johnni and Chris Gorges have created a lovely story about the excitement of a family trip. Throughout the book, readers will be delighted by the colorful and pleasing style of the illustration as they read about the Fox family's day at the beach.

The Fox Family Adventures: A Day at the Beach begins with Ben waking up his sister Emily exclaiming that "it's beach day!" They rush to go eat breakfast so that they can help their dad pack the car as Mama Fox prepares a basket of food. Before hitting the road, Ben realizes he forgot his camera and dashes inside at the last moment to grab it. This moment is sure to be funny and relatable to many readers. Many readers will look back at their own memories of hectic mornings when they tried not to forget anything important before an adventure.

Upon arrival, Emily wants to go swimming in the ocean, while Ben wants to stay behind and build a sandcastle. After he finishes, the worst happens when James Rabbit ruins Ben's creation by accident. Ben learns about forgiveness and friendship when James apologizes and asks to help build a bigger and better sandcastle than before.

The story really emulates the carefree excitement of children and their innate ability to make fast friends. A Day at the Beach doesn't really have much conflict and is more of a snapshot into a day of a happy family enjoying a beautiful day at the beach. A story like A Day at the Beach is an important one, especially right now, when many families are encouraged to stay at home. Stories like this are a good escape, as well as a promise of adventure in the future. 

A book created by a family for families is sure to become a frequent new pick at storytime. Reminisce about your past family adventures as you read about the Fox family's day at the beach.

originally published on Reedsy here.