Spot at the Beach

Spot the Dog

by Eric Hill

When Spot and his friends, Helen Hippo and Steve Monkey, go to the beach, they have fun building sandcastles, swimming in the water, and playing beach ball.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs, Animals, Summer, Fiction, Juvenile

12 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Eric Gordon Hill OBE was a popular author and illustrator of children's picture books, best known for his character Spot the Dog. His works have been widely praised for their contributions to child literacy. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much loved and very well thumbed. Ideal for small children. Recommended.

[Neko · Rating 3 out of 5]

One way to sum up Eric Hill Spot books? Basic! And in Kindy this is something that works well...It's simple, colours are bright, Spot goes on an adventure...Pretty much these books work to a simple pattern.

This one is where Spot and family go to the Beach. I've always found it a bit strange with the either the Mum or Dad being called Sam (not due to the name) but I think it's the father where they refer to him as Sam instead of Dad...I would of thought they'd be wanting to use Dad...Maybe they don't because like Spot, Sam starts with the letter S?

Spot gets a little bit spoilt with his Dad allowing him to purchase many different goods from the seaside shop! However, as you flip through the story all the purchases are put to use in the story. Since Spot is a flip book, you can get your child to easily interact with the story..Sometimes they'll want to open the flap and sometimes not.

Was kind of funny because since I read this in Kinder a few of the flaps have been broken off from general wear and tear..Everytime I'd come to a broken flap the kid would remark 'Let's fix the page. It's broken!' - I think it was one of those have to be there moments..Since starting to read this book over and over again I keep hearing the comment..haha

[Bob Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ziek spannend, onverwachts plot. Een echte Page turner!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently reread my family's copy of this lift-the-flap book, and was impressed to discover that only one of the flaps had ever required repair. My siblings and I took such good care of our books!

As for the story itself, it's hardly spectacular, but the illustrations are bright and colorful, with lots of creative and unexpected things behind the flaps. This book also accurately represents what a day at the beach often looks like, including the potential trauma of walking in on an angry hippo in the changing room. I was always very embarrassed by that page when I was a child, but overall, this is a charming book for its age group with better lift-the-flap content than many similar books.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressed with baby me for not tearing off all the flaps on this one. Wee bub has a lot to live up to.

[Stars & Anchor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spot is always up to something fun, and in this book you can go on an adventure to the beach with Spot. As always, the illustrations of Spot and his family and friends are so cute.

This book is featured in my list, Beach Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers That Are Both Cute and Engaging.

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[Sidney McQuade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spot goes to the beach with his parents and gets into all sorts of things; some of which he isn't supposed to. At the end, Spot meets a friend to play with.
I find this book cute and that it shows that youngsters get into things and are all over the place a lot of the time. The flip tabs in the book make it a little more fun for little children to find Spot and what he is doing and gets them more engaged.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Children's Fiction
Grades: K

This book was okay. I could see it being used for a one on one with the teacher because of some of the tricky words (spoil, caught, overboard, towel, and tomorrow).

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably a reread, but I don't remember this particular book (or any individual Spot books, really) from my own childhood. It was amusing how much Spot, the dog in the book, looks like Spot, the stuffed dog that my family's living dog cherished and tore to shreds.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A board book about Spot and his parents going to the beach. Spot builds sandcastles, goes surfing with penguins, and has a picnic with new friends and parents. Toddlers familiar with Spot will enjoy reading this before going on a beach trip.

[Michael Galassini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spot had a great time at the beach but I think the penguins intentionally set him up for failure when it came to surfing. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is that we are unnecessarily left in the dark on what Mom packed for the picnic.

[Robyn Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved by the children. Great little book just like the others in the series.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beach flow 😉

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interactive book about the beach. Going to be a core memory because my son is on the spectrum but will say beach and make a “come” sign language.❤️

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This might be the most lacking Spot book.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical spot book except it's not a lift the flap Book. Great for babies, my two and a half year old got a little bored with it.

[TJ Minchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spot always seemed a bit suspect to me (could be the hat, could be the bipedalism)

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story and brightly colored pictures. My children and I loved it.

[Scooter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last night I had another date with this book and my 22 month old son. Once again he was riveted, puppies, balls, bright colours and lifting flaps that reveal more things of interest when lifted. It's pretty much everything the little man is after.
Now don't get me wrong, I really do love reading books with my son and I hope he appreciates books as much as I do. But I've found that this book really lost it's dynamic after the first 40 times we read it and further subsequent readings have not improved on this at all for me.
Now doubt I'll be revisiting this book in the not too distant future as he is very fond of his large Spot collection, but in the mean time you can expect reviews of other classic titles as, Spot's first Easter, Spot goes to party, etc.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a huge favourite of mine. I wanted to get a dog after reading it. I used to have ALL of these books and I read them a lot because I liked the pictures. When it became an animated thing, I lved it so much! I had the VHSs and watched them everyday. I don't know when I stopped or when I grew up from it, but this series has completely escaped my memory until just recently when I read the book: "1001 Children's Books you must read before you grow up".

I am glad to have had this in my life.

[K.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hill, Eric. (2003). Spot goes to the beach. New York: Puffin Books.

Categories: engineered book, pop-up book, participation books, picture storybook

Spot the dog spends the day at the beach with his parents. Flaps to open are included on each page and add a little humor to the story.

Themes: beach, dogs

Classroom uses: read-aloud for Pre-K and K, introduction to summer, discussion of beach activities, could be used as writing prompt for 1st graders

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't love the Spot books so much. I find the text really boring to read, and I'm not that impressed by the illustrations, but my daughter loves all of the Spot books and reads them daily. Perhaps it's the lift-the-flap aspect? Anyway, she enjoys this story of Spot's trip to the beach, especially the part where Spot gets into a tug-of-war with a hippo with a towel.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.

And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?

[Feline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dribbels tractor vind ik leuk, maar dit flapjesboek interesseerde me niet zo. Erg robuust zijn de flapjes ook niet. En pappa en mamma vinden het verhaaltje maar onsamenhangend.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

We got these out of the library for Natalie because they have flaps. She doesn't seem to like them as much as Open the Barn Door, but it maybe because we haven't sat and read them the same and that the flaps are different.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Spot going to the beach. It is an easy read book that is easy to read... and for that I give it 3 stars. (Easy read books that aren't really easy make me a little crazy.) It is not terribly original but the lift-the-flaps gave me a little giggle.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fun, lift-a-flap Spot book. This is one of Jacob's favorite books! He especially loves the "puppy overboard" page...

[Modboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Hill's writing is very simple. My son really enjoys lifting the flaps to discover what happens in the story. Recommended for ages 1-3.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spot Goes to the Beach
Hill, Eric
early reader that allowed the students to connect to reading to tv show, and the character

[Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

riveting