Happy Book Birthday, Jules vs. The Ocean by Jessie Sima

JULES VS. THE OCEAN

by Jessie Sima

Simon & Schuster

Picture Book

48 pages

ages 4 to 8

From the creator of Not Quite Narwhal comes a story about a young girl determined to impress her older sister by building elaborate sandcastles, even if that means standing up to the ocean and its smash-happy waves!

Jules is going to build the biggest, the fanciest, and the most excellent sandcastle. Her sister will be so impressed.

But the ocean has other plans.

Jules keeps building bigger, fancier, and more excellent castles, and waves keep smashing them.

And when the ocean takes her bucket, that is the final straw.

Jules is going to take a stand!

From beloved storyteller Jessie Sima comes the tongue-in-cheek story of the sand, the sea, and sisterhood—told with her signature warmth, timeless humor, and delightfully playful illustrations.

    

MY TIDBITS

Determination mixed with tons of sand makes this a cute and inspiring summer read for young beach lovers, who are ready to take on the sea.

Jules is going to impress her older sister. She's going to build the most amazing sandcastle ever. If the ocean would stop messing things up for her with its frustrating waves. Splashes and splats hammer at Jules' enthusiasm until it's her against the ocean. And either might win.

Any one who has tried to build a sand castle as a child will immediately find themselves in Jules' flip-flops. Her desire to impress her older sister...a very pure one...already makes her easy to cheer for. It's hard not to root for her as she gives her best, time and again. And defeat despite best intentions and hard work is something young listeners can relate to. The ending pulls through with a lovely and encouraging message. Plus, there's a tiny jab of humor built in.

Sun and fun radiate from every page and bring beach fun to life in these bright illustrations. Young listeners will wish they could hit the sand themselves and enjoy gazing at each page. The expressive text and font makes it a fun read-aloud, and the wording is very fitting to the age group.

It's a summer read beach fans and sand dreamers are sure to enjoy.



And here she is...

Jessie Sima is an author/illustrator living and working in New York City. She grew up in a small town in southern New Jersey, unaware that she was a story teller. Once she figured it out, she told her family and friends. They took it quite well. She is the author of Not Quite Narwhal, Harriet Gets Carried Away, and Love, Z. You can visit her at JessieSima.com