Beach Journaling

I just got back from a short trip to Florida--and our annual day on the beaches of Captiva and Sanibel Islands. If you love shells, I would recommend a day on either island! There is also a great wildlife sanctuary on Sanibel that is worth a visit! In this picture, my daughter is holding her favorite find of the day, though we left it at the beach...

Anyway, spending the day combing the beach reminded me of one of my favorite beach books, Out of the Ocean, by Debra Frasier. This book is written from the perspective of a young girl, whose mother tells her that if you ask the ocean to bring you something, it just might. The rest of the book highlights things the ocean might bring...from shells to glass and feathers to turtle tracks. The backgrounds of the pages look like sand, and Frasier uses her own photographs of the items she mentions alongside cut paper illustrations. At the back of the book, she also includes what she calls an ocean journal, that identifies, in detail, items that are found (by her and others) at the beach. She provides additional information about sand, water, waves, and both the sun and the moon. And, she reminds readers not to forget the plants that are often found at the beach, providing a little bit more information about them, as well.

I wouldn't call Frasier's book a beach journal, but Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini has two books, Salamander Rain: A Lake and Pond Journal and Saguaro Moon: A Desert Journal, that could serve as models for one! These two are presented as journals created by young people and are appealing ways to show students the variety of items that might be included in such a journal. Of course, Sally Wolf's book (highlighted in one of our first entries) provides another perspective on nature journaling.

Maybe if I would've started a beach journal when we began our now annual trips eight years ago, I would've had enough material to write my own book! I guess there's always next year...