Review Detail

To a Midwesterner like me, kids like Cabo and Coral, who live near a beach with real waves are the luckiest kids in the world! Youve got to be hip to all the surfer lingo to truly enjoy this richly illustrated picture book that follows two kids, Cabo and Coral on their safe surfing adventures.

But even if you dont know what turning turtle, smacking off the lip, and flying down the line, mean, you can still learn a lot from Cabo and Coral and their smart, safe surfing. After checking with the lifeguards to make sure its OK to surf, greasing up with sun block and donning their rash guards, the kids head out and share waves with friends, and marine animals like dolphins and Salty the sea turtle, and even recycle trash on the beach.
While overall the messages in this book are well-meaning, the length of the book (49 pages) made them feel heavy-handed towards the end. Young ones might prefer to look at the colorful, textured, illustrations instead as they sometimes carry the book more so than the plot, which has a non-linear storyline and a non-traditional narrative style. The entire story is told through dialog without attribution. In some of the conversation, its difficult to determine whos speaking to whom and the story sequencing is fragmented and jumpy.

That said, theres lots of extra information about how to protect beaches at the end of the book and part of the proceeds go to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to protect oceans and beaches.