Beach Toys vs. School Supplies is classroom love for the elementary set

The concept of everyday objects coming to life is timeless. Sometimes the execution of the said project isn’t as great as it could be, or as entertaining as you want it to be. Small Soldiers, the 1998 film that sounded great on paper, but whose end result was very disappointing, is an example of this.* Beach Toys vs. School Supplies is the illustrated book version of somewhere in this camp. The idea of beach toys and school supplies having a conflict is fun to think about. After all, it’s the inanimate premise of Toy Story, isn’t it? But is Beach Toys vs. School Supplies an illustrated book that will capture and hold the attention of early elementary audiences?

The answer is a mixed yes in that, I wanted to love the book, but instead, I merely liked the book. However, if you’re reading it to a group of elementary-aged kids they’ll be hard-pressed to pick a side. Sure, the group that they’ll side with first is beach toys, with the more logic-based or contrarian kids choosing school supplies. However, as the book’s story moves on all of the kids will realize that each side has its own unique benefit.

Readers who are on the older side of illustrated books would’ve seen the lessons that Beach Toys vs. School Supplies before this. To an extent, it’s the basic lesson of getting along with people that are different from you and working together. When looking at the lesson from that perspective one could also recommend books of this genre to adults, some of which you older folks work with, know, or possibly might be yourself.

Shovel is lying down on the beach, as he does. He sees his rival, ruler, on the beach working on his surveying skills. The two get into a conversation with the beach toys mocking the school supplies for always wanting to work. Shovel and bucket organize a sandcastle building contest to determine the victor in their argument. Swim Mask, Beach Ball, Pencil, Scissors, and the like go to their respective sides and let the building puns fly.

Glue can’t stick to her position. Index Card says, “Take note”, and seemingly every class tool and beach object has a one-liner that would be at home in Batman ’66. There is a victor in the great sandcastle build, but that’s not the climax of the book. Instead, the winning team immediately needs the assistance of the other team in order to save their castle, as well as, their classroom-craving lives.

The sweet spot for Beach Toys vs. School Supplies are those kids in first through early third grade. The text will be a little too challenging for those younger readers to dive into it by themselves, but they’ll laugh at the images of the two sides facing off. Those slightly older readers will be able to wrangle the words, still love the pictures, and laugh at the combination.

It’s an illustrated book that I wanted more from, but the book is not meant for adult readers, is it? Elementary school libraries and classrooms will eat the book up without asking any questions and hopefully imagine their own battle of un-like forces comically fighting.

Beach Toys vs. Beach Supplies is by author/illustrator Mike Ciccotello and available on Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.

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*Even with today’s CGI effects the film Small Soldiers, as it was written, wouldn’t measure up. The problem with Small Soldiers was the script. It had a dream cast and was the final on-screen appearance of Phil Hartman. Perhaps it’s that fact that makes the reason why the film wasn’t as great as it could’ve been all the more disappointing.