Johnny Castleseed by Edward Ormondroyd

 

Grade 1-3 As Evan and his father are walking through the California woods on their way to the beach, they talk of Johnny Appleseed. Evan's father then tells him about Johnny Castleseed. On the beach, they begin to build an elaborate sand castle by dribbling wet sand through their fingers to make walls, turrets, arches and peaks. Decorated with found objects such as seagull feathers and shells, the castle takes on added intricacies of embellishment. As Evan and his father build, people gather to watch and eventually go off to build castles of their own. It is then that Evan realizes that he and his father are the Johnny Castleseed of the story. The text begins and ends in a third-person narrative, but the large central section is Evan's father's first-person account of how to build sand castles. Thewlis' fine watercolors reinforce the warm tone of togetherness between father and son. Children living near a sandy beach will be particularly inspired by Evan and his father's lofty creation. Hayden E. Atwood, Cape Elizabeth Middle School Library, Maine
From School Library Journal via Amazon