Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley! by Evan Lavine is a cute story about Mrs. Medley’s first visit to a beach. “She had just moved into a new house and hadn’t seen the sea yet.” She invites her grandson and dog to accompany her. Anyone who’s been to the beach knows there’s much to pack, beginning with towels. But what if it rains? Mrs. Medley stops in her flip flops and looks up at the sky. Then she turns around and walks home to get some rain things. On her way back to the beach she realizes they have no toys. Max says they don’t need toys, but the trio walk back home anyway. This pattern repeats until grandma, grandson, and dog arrive at the beach with a hilarious pile of belongings. The ending is adorable. This is a super fun story made even more enjoyable by S.D.Schindler’s illustrations. Each picture has lots of setting. I spent time with the pictures soaking in location details.
I picked up this book because I expected a music theme. No music theme, but a delightful surprise instead.
(Don’t you just love a title that needs punctuation!)
