Miles's inquisitive nature and outgoing personality offer Bright opportunity to incorporate fun facts about life in the Caribbean. Her narration poses interactive questions in each compact chapter (“Have you ever played a new game with new friends?”) while Naafi Nur Rohma’s inviting, sun-kissed illustrations offer vistas worth poring over, alive palm trees, sea turtles, and expressive faces. The long green monkeys, lanky and limber, are a highlight. In each chapter, Miles discovers something new such as the fact that in much of the world soccer is called "football", or the thrill of swimming with turtles, "ocean helpers" who "eat jelly fish and sea grass to keep the ocean clean.”

The text design is somewhat odd, with some oversized and bolded words on each page that might encourage out-loud readers to place emphasis where it doesn’t naturally fall, and a lack of narrative stakes—Miles is eager for adventure from the start—may limit emotional investment. Still, Miles's low-key, cool-breeze day at the beach introduces young readers not just to charming aspects of Caribbean life but to the pleasures of travel, especially to cultivating a sense of discovery and pride in the feeling of “becoming a small but real part of the community,” even if only for a day. A map of Barbados is a welcome addition.

Takeaway: Laid-back adventure of discovering Barbados on a beach vacation.

Comparable Titles: Junot Díaz’ss Islandborn, Rohit Loomba's Kayan Goes to Aruba.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-