A Day at the Beach

by Mircea Vasiliu (Illustrator)

A family spends the day at the beach where they swim, build sand castles, explore the tide pools, watch birds, and identify many forms of marine plant and animal life. Reissue.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Summer

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Born in Bucharest in 1920, Mircea Vasiliu (pronounced Vas-ILL-you) moved to the U.S. after WWII. 1920-2008.

Although he had published two books by age sixteen, Vasiliu trained for a diplomatic career and received a law degree from the University of Bucharest. At the age of 23 he became an attaché in the Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In 1946 he was assigned to the Romanian Legation in Washington, D.C. Vasiliu resigned his position in 1948 following the Communist takeover of Romania, and he received asylum in the United States.

In 1955 he published The Pleasure is Mine, a humorous autobiography of his diplomatic years. A later memoir, Which Way to the Melting Pot? (1963), recounts his adjustment to American life.

In the 1950s Vasiliu began creating free-lance illustrations both for adult and children's books and soon authored his own children's books. His most well-known works include A Day at the Beach and Miss Agatha's Lark.

Later on, he lived in Glen Cove, New York, Castleton, Vermont, and finally, in Annapolis, Maryland. He was living in Annapolis at the time of his death in 2008.

Reviews

[Kenneth]

I remember reading this to my three children when they were very young.
This book is very engaging and it does prepare a child very well for the many varied fun filled activities that they can have in your trip to the beach.

[JKR]

Would love to have a day at the beach such as that described in this book. The illustrations are great - I also love the whimsical Once Upon a Pirate Ship, by the same author/illustrator.

[Jess]

I used to love this book as a child. Although I haven't thought about or looked at it in probably 20 years, something today made me think of it. I decided to look it up and sure enough here it is. I remember the part about eating sandwiches with a little bit of sand in them. I always thought that was funny.

[Sarah]

There's really nothing special about this book but I enjoyed the simple story and illustrations as a child. Perhaps because I liked the notion of living near a beach one could actually swim in! (The Puget Sound is a tad on the chilly side.)

[Bee]

This was a great informative book because it teaches children all about different things at the beach. (Under and over water) It focuses on things that are not as familiar to everyone. (Or me!) Great descriptive pictures. Still a good read and draws in a fun place for children.

[Mandy]

See some of the many things to do and see if you spend the day at the beach.

Graph if students have been to the beach or not. Have them write one thing they've dome or would like to do if they went to the beach. Study some of the sea life mentioned in the book.