Hot Dog by Doug Salati

This hot dog has had enough of summer in the city! Enough of sizzling sidewalks, enough of wailing sirens, enough of people's feet right in his face. When he plops down in the middle of a crosswalk, his owner endeavors to get him the breath of fresh air he needs. She hails a taxi, hops a train, and travels to the beach. Here, a pup can run!

A Day for Sandcastles by JonArno Lawson; illustrated by Qin Leng

A busload of beachgoers spills out onto the sand for a day of fun and frolic. Three siblings begin work on a castle, patting and shaping the sand as the sun arcs over the sky. Time and again, their progress is halted: a windswept hat topples their creation; a toddler ambles through it; the tide creeps close, and then too close. Meeting each demolition with fresh determination, the builders repeatedly outdo themselves, until the moment arrives to pile back into the bus for home.

Sandy Feet! Whose Feet? Footprints At The Shore by Susan Wood; illustrated by Steliyana Doneva

When a family spends a day at the beach, the children investigate various footprints to see what type of creatures live along the shoreline. The rhyming text turns a sandy beach into an outdoor classroom. The tracks and habits of local wildlife, including hopping sandpipers, scuttling crabs, and burrowing turtles, are identified and explained to young ecology detectives. Even Daddy's feet make an appearance! And at day's end, it's time for tired feet to make their way home.

This Beach is Loud! by Samantha Cotterill

Going to the beach is exciting. But it can also be busy. And loud. Sand can feel hot or itchy or sticky...and it gets everywhere! In This Beach Is Loud!, a sensitive boy gets overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds, and sensations at the beach. Luckily, this kiddo's dad has a trick up his sleeve to help his son face these unexpected obstacles.

Little Houses by Kevin Henkes; illustrated by Laura Dronzek

When a young girl visits her grandparents at the beach, she stays in a little house and walks along the shore gathering seashells — which were once little houses of their own. As she wanders the beach, she wonders about the creatures who used to live in each shell, about the hidden treasures of the sea, and about what it would be like to know the answers to everything.

A Lullaby of Summer Things by Natalie Rief Ziarnik; illustrated by Madeline Valentine

This simple, lyrical picture book is as warm, reassuring, and filled with joy as a vacation at the beach. Readers will join a little girl and her siblings as they wind down from a perfect day. Hanging up towels, eating dinner, and getting ready for bed — each activity sparking a memory of their day — playing catch with the dog, chasing waves, and looking at sailboats along the shore. And when the lights of the family beach house go off, "In the dusky evening light, a sleepy house says goodnight," young listeners will be lulled to sleep themselves.

Beach by Elisha Cooper

"Away to the beach! Away to sand and salt water, to rolling dunes and pounding waves." A day at the beach supplies any child with a lifetime of memories. The simple magic of building sand castles, collecting seashells, and running from the waves is brought to life through poetic text and lively illustrations.

If You Ever Want to Bring A Piano to the Beach, Don't!  by Elise Parsley

Magnolia is a little girl with a big idea, determination, and one very heavy upright piano that she insists on taking with her to the beach. But in a series of mishaps, Magnolia quickly learns that a piano does not mix well with sand, sun, and seagulls.

Beach Feet  by Kiyomi Konagaya; illustrated by Masamitsu Saito

The story of a boy's visit to the beach, Beach Feet opens with a small boy feeling the heat of the sand and then running towards the ocean. Free and independent despite his young age and the tube around his waist, the boy gives himself over to the ocean and the pleasures to be had at the water’s edge. Throughout, the boy's connection to the beach through his feet — the feel of sand, shells, and water — is never lost.

Noah's Seal by Layn Marlow

In a gentle multigenerational story that blurs the boundaries of real and imagined, Noah waits on shore while Nana fixes their sailboat. The boat will take them out to sea where the seals live, and Noah can hardly contain himself. In the meantime, he sculpts his own seal out of the sand. Noah collects shells for the seal's speckled back, spiky dune grass for whiskers, two shiny pebbles for eyes, and a smiling line of seaweed for a mouth. He lies beside his new friend to watch the rolling sea until a storm blows in and Noah must take cover. Later, he wonders: did his seal swim away? Readers will delight in pondering the mystery too in this sun-splashed book for young adventurers, an essential summer vacation read.