Bebé Goes to the Beach (review)

If Bebé could turn a trip to the supermercado into an adventure (Bebé Goes Shopping, BCCB 6/06), imagine what he can do at the seashore. Again, the huge-headed, springy-haired dynamo is one step ahead of his long-suffering but sweet-tempered mother, making a beeline for the waves, dumping sand on Mamá's belly, tasting the seaweed ("¡Mala!"), crushing a fragile surfboard entry in a sand sculpture contest. Bebé may think he's on the loose, but Mamá is always there to catch him up in her protective arms and settle him down—albeit temporarily—with a kiss. His antics transpire in smoothly scanning verse, the poetry heavily packed with bold-faced Spanish terms. Lots of bright colors and curvy lines pump up the energy level, and red figure outlining adds some subtle spice. A comprehensive glossary with pronunciations is appended for readers in need of a linguistic cheat sheet, and luscious, leggy, doe-eyed Mamá may entice Daddy to volunteer for extra readaloud time.