Back of Book:
One summer, a boy named Thomas visits his grandmother at her seaside cottage. She gives him a magnifying glass that once belonged to his grandfather, and with it Thomas explores the beach, turning grains of sand into rocks and dark clamshells into swirling mazes of black, gray, and white. When his grandmother shows him a piece of sea glass, Thomas is transfixed. That night he dreams of an old shipyard and the breaking of a bottle. Could the very piece of sea glass on his nightstand have come from that bottle? For the rest of the summer, he searches for more sea glass and hopes to have dreams that will reveal more of the sea’s secrets.
My Review:
I received a copy of this picture book from Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review.
Summer is right around the corner and with it comes the promise of adventure. Sea Glass Summer follows a young boy named Thomas as he explores the amazing aspects of the beach at his grandmother’s house. He realizes that each piece of sea glass has a story attached to it. This story is almost magical. The whimsical text whisks readers into a world that combines past and present. Every aspect of the story is delicately tied to how the sea glass connected people of various time periods. The watercolor illustrations are vibrant and gorgeous! I loved that the dream sequences were drawn in grayscale. It adds a different aspect to the historical aspect of the story. This is the kind of story that is perfect to use with an object lesson on how the ocean recycles items to create something new. Overall a stunning ode to a tradition that hasn’t been forgotten and treasures that continue to connect us to the sea.
Ages 6 and up
32 Pages
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