Dog Beach by Julie Murphy, illustrated by Annie White

Title: Dog Beach

Author: Julie Murphy, illustrated by Annie White

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: NLA Publishing

Published:  1^st November 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: Look who’s at the dog beach!

Strong dogs, long dogs,

Playing dogs, staying dogs,

Black dogs, brown dogs, go-to-town dogs, 

Bit-of-a-clown dogs, upside-down dogs, 

Mopey dogs, dopey dogs, 

Shaggy dogs, waggy dogs …

Going to the beach is a big part of Australian culture and, for many people, so are dogs! This book doubles the fun, celebrating all of the different types of dogs that Australians love, from working dogs to lap dogs. Follow them as they run amuck along the sunny shores of Australia.

With bright and dreamy illustrations by Annie White, this short, rhythmic story will capture the attention of all beach and dog loving children, and even their parents!

Educational backmatter closes the book, with sections on huskies in Antarctica, guide dogs, farm dogs, and more. Accompanying this text are images of both fun and wacky, and serious and strong dogs found in the National Library of Australia’s pictures collections.

~*~

Come to the dog beach, where dogs of all shapes and sizes, who are part of all different families and do all kinds of jobs come to play. And going there is part of living in Australia, because it is such fun to meet all kinds of dogs and people running around, playing, swimming and taking a break from their very important doggy jobs – whether they are a police dog or a Guide Dog, or just a pet that love frolicking across the golden sands of Australia’s beaches. It’s a delightful story that celebrates dogs and beaches, and brings together many of the things that Australians love about dogs, summer and beaches.

Whilst this is quite a simple story on its surface, as it simply goes through the different dogs you might find at the beach, there is a deeper story about the dogs represented through Annie White’s brilliant illustrations that combine with the words to create an array of dog characters, and everything they do on the beach. I loved seeing how the dogs all came together in a very friendly and united beach. To me, this created a reassuring story that highlights the idea of fun and joy of life and play. Each spread has a few kinds of dogs, with fun rhymes and joyous colour that dances and frolics off the page. The simple telling of this story allows the reader to imagine more, to see a story within each dog, and a character within each dog. Because dogs are characters, and every dog has a different personality. I felt that many of these personalities were exhibited eloquently and in a fun and joyous way on the page. I loved that the dogs were given these qualities, because it is very much what dogs can be like, and to see them being allowed to be themselves is magical.

This was a delightful picture book that is just filled with fun and a nice educational spread about the different kinds of jobs that dogs do at the back – some very important jobs that cover many roles and areas where they help humans navigate the world. Ultimately, this is a fun book that readers of all ages will enjoy.