Back to the Beach
Written and Illustrated by Heidi Jardine Stoddart
Nimbus Publishing $10.95
Recommended for ages 3-6

Heidi has scored again with her latest picture book. Young readers will follow Gus and his dog, Sam, as they explore the beach and all it has to offer. As his parents relax under their beach umbrella, Gus discovers the many treasures that so many of us take for granted. Each time he finds something, be it a piece of driftwood, a special rock or a clump of salty seaweed, he returns to the blanket and asks his parents if he can keep it. Each time, they explain, “We can’t take it that far from the ocean tide’s reach. There’s no room in the car. Take it back to the beach!” Gus then realizes that although he can’t take the beach with him when he goes home, he can always go ‘back to the beach’ for more.

As with all of her books, Heidi has written and illustrated this fourth picture book – a feat in itself. The text is at times rhyming and the illustrations are lifelike. Gus is a familiar little boy who scours the beach with his red bucket searching for beach glass and wishing rocks. With any luck at all, we’ll see more of Gus in future stories…

Heidi Jardine Stoddart is a Rothesay resident who has written and illustrated East to the Sea, Return to the Sea and A Nothing-to-do-Day.