Hello, Ocean!

Salutations reveal aspects of a seaside locale in Luyken’s effusive picture book chronicle of a day at the beach. Taking its cue from the title, anaphoric narration greets sand, wind, fog, foam, and the like at water’s edge (“whoa./ hello, beach glass?”). As the greetings stack up, a pale-skinned, dark-haired protagonist grows increasingly exuberant until a garbage pile stops them short (“hello... flip-flop?”). After a quick beach cleanup with two accompanying caregivers, the nature-focused greetings resume with sky views (“hello, pelican!// hello, plover!”), leading up to a final series of sunset interactions. Brayers, brushes, plastic netting, sponges, and mono-printing techniques give acrylic gouache, ink, and pencil scenes organic, breezy textures. Amid the limited-palette backdrops, scribbly-looking sketches of the youth’s gleeful antics supply a likable ebullience on every page. Ages 3–5. (June)