Sand-Play Time on the Sun-Baked Beach

Let’s build a seawall! Tide’s coming in. We’ll take on the sea and see if we can win! Two children build a wall of sand, decorated with shells, and defy the sea to destroy it … which it does, taking a few more shells away with each wave, providing a lesson in subtraction along the way!

Another playful counting story written in flawless rhyme and rhythm by Juliette MacIver, a companion to Beddy-Bye Tune in the Kōwhai Tree, which was a finalist for Best Picture Book in the 2025 NZ Children’s Book Awards. Kids will really identify with the beach action and get caught up in the drama of the seawall being washed away! Lily Uivel beautifully captures a day at the beach and cleverly integrates a couple of other characters for children to find on each page.