I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book a lot. The illustrations were so detailed. Each time I looked I could find things I hadn't noticed before. A unique idea for a book. Good story.

A deep dive into the complexities of a child's imagination with great attention to detail in its illustrations.

The little girl who narrates the story loves to build sandcastles. She doesn’t just build regular ones though, she builds huge and elaborate creations. It has turrets and a moat. Inside are curving staircases and large windows. Soon the sandcastle brings kings and queens from around the world to visit. The royalty loved the castle, particularly the endless supply of ice cream. But the next morning, troubles started as the food got sand in it. The next day, the knights got sand their armor. The plants in the greenhouse started to wilt because they were not meant to grow in pure sand. Everything was being spoiled by the sand: locks wouldn’t open, baths were sandy, and the beds were itchy. Everyone was angry. So that’s when the little girl created one more thing out of sand: a sand ball to have a sandy fight. But suddenly, the waves came and washed everyone out to sea, the sandcastle and all. There was just one thing left to do: build a sandcastle.

This delight of a summer read captures the wonderful tales that children making sandcastles tell themselves as they build. Their creations may not be as grand and large as this one, certainly not big enough to enter, but they will recognize their own visions of grandeur and the marvel of creating a castle of their own. The entire book is wry and funny, from the variety of royalty who visit to the various complaints that living in a sandcastle creates. When the water finally rushes in, there is a moment of contentment in a job fully completed. And then started again.

The illustrations are done digitally and have a sharp crispness to them. The first pages are filled with others crowding the beach and are a joy to explore visually. That then makes way to the opportunity of building a sandcastle near the water and the marvelous details provided there.

A funny sun-drenched sandy delight. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

I hope that my family and I can make it to the beach late in the summer and though we might not create a castle that looks like this one, it is fun to imagine new ways to build when reading this amazing book by Einat Tsarfati. Sad to say considering the social distancing we are supposed to be doing, the opening page of many, many people hanging out on blankets by the sea makes me sad and nostalgic for the way it used to be. But the illustrations are true-to-life from before, detailed and filled with color!
A young girl gazes at the sea, then sits and begins, saying "I love building castles in the sand. So I built a sandcastle." And what a castle she created! Wow! You can see from the cover that this isn't just "any" castle. She is that little one way up on top! People come to visit from all over the world, and they love it. I'm reading an e-copy and must imagine the glorious double-page spread of the interior, so many details show the private bedrooms, the public rooms like the library, the inner workings in the lowest "cellar" part, etc. Evening brings a wonderful party, but in the morning, ugh, trouble. The food looks elegant, yet guests stick out their tongues, complaining of sand, yes, in the food! This problem remains, in athletic contests, in sheets where they sleep. One Egyptian princess says it's even worse than a pea under a mattress! The ending, well, you must read to discover how this little girl who loves sandcastle-building solves it all.
Thanks to Candlewick Press for the e-copy!

This book was okay there was nothing that made it stand out. There’s a girl that goes to the beach with her family. She builds a big sandcastle that is soon filled with kings and queens. It’s all about imagination and starting over. Relaxing.

This was a funny read! Sandcastle building is fun, especially in our little sand pit, and this book told a beautiful story about the fun of building a sandcastle, with the imagination of it being so huge they can live in it. We loved it and found the ending brilliant!

A day at the beach is anything but ordinary for this young girl. She builds a sandcastle, but this is not just any sandcastle. This one is fit for hosting royalty - a castle with turrets and a moat guarded by a crocodile. There’s even ice cream!

But a day at the beach is not complete unless sand gets everywhere.

This is an imaginative book and the illustrations contain so many details, with the opportunity for countless untold stories to be imagined. Before the story even gets under way you’re treated to a crowded scene that includes a sand shark, sand snowman (sandman?), mummy, pirate, witches and so much more.

I also found some references in the illustrations that will likely fly straight over kids’ heads. Jack and Rose from ‘Titanic’ recreate one of their scenes. Excalibur tests the worthiness of various characters.

Make sure you keep an eye out for the girl’s small friend in the blue and white striped swimmers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read this book.

It's a hot, busy day at the beach and it seems like just about everyone has found a bit of sand for themselves, including some real surprises. One young red-headed girl heads to the shoreline with her pail and shovel, and begins to build a sandcastle. But not just any ordinary sandcastle. No, indeed. It is a sandcastle fit for royalty, and that's exactly who shows up to enjoy the many spacious rooms, to dance the night away in the grand ballroom, to feast, and especially to enjoy the ice cream available round the clock. It's all wonderful until the next morning, when sand is found in the royal almond strudel and in the knight's armor just before a tournament, and the rare plants in the glorious greenhouse have wilted. Everyone is angry at the red-headed castle builder, until suddenly along comes the one thing that washes all sandcastles away -a big wave as the tide comes in. I wouldn't exactly call this book a fantasy, but I would call it far-fetched fun, from the moment the red-headed girl arrives at the beach to the moment the ocean washes away her castle. Tsarfati's colorful digital images are diverse and whimsical and simply a delight to explore, from the crowded beach that includes an elephant and a seal sunbathing among the humans, to the multiple turrets representing a wide variety of cultures, to the knights playing Twister, to the two-page spread of all the rooms in the sandcastle. This is another book I am excited to share with my young readers when we can be together again. There is so much for kids to explore on each page, much of which will provide a real laugh. This is imagination at its best.

"Sandcastle" is a creative and beautiful book! Perfectly captures the magic of a day at the beach while digging in the sand. Loved the story and detailed illustrations!

A fun children's book about a girl who builds a huge, elaborate sandcastle. I enjoyed how imaginative the story was and the illustrations were quite exciting!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Sandcastle was a story about a little girl that built a sandcastle on the beach. It was large and magnificent. Soon kings and queens from all over the world come to stay at the castle. It doesn't take long before the beauty of the sandcastle disappears for all the visitors. Soon, sand is everywhere and the kings and queens find themselves at their wits end with all the sand. That all changes when a huge wave comes to shore....

I received an electronic ARC from Candlewick Press through NetGalley.
The young girl built quite the sandcastle during a visit to the beach. Kings and Queens came from everywhere to see and stay in this life size castle. All was well until they realized sand got everywhere. Fortunately, the water solved the problem and sent them on their way. So, the young girl circled back at the end and built a sandcastle to finish the story.
Realistic illustrations make readers feel they're inside the castle along with the characters. Plenty of details to study on each page. Clever story that works as a read alone or read aloud. Tsarfati offers plenty of room for readers to expand the story with their imaginations too.

In this lovely picture book, a girl dreams about making her sandcastle a real home, a palace where royals would visit and chat to each other and marvel over the sandcastle house and the downsides of having a sandcastle home too! A vibrant rich in colour book that shows just how fun a child's imagination can be!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a lovely imaginative book for children about letting your imagination run wild. The story is about a little girl who builds a huge sandcastle and kings and queens come to visit but then there's problems because sand gets everywhere.
I loved the artwork and it really fitted the story.

I really enjoyed this story about the power of imagination!

The book was easy to read and follow and it was really well written.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, just wish we could visit the seaside at the moment to make our own sandcastle!

Thank goodness for a book like this that can also let us imagine and escape! Highly recommended!!

This picture book is filled with intricate and interesting illustrations.  The story itself is one of a young girl who, through the power of imagination, envisions a sandcastle that is large, complete with windows and fully furnished.  In this fantasy kings and queens come to visit and ice cream is served all day.  But wait!...there are some inconveniences with sandcastles just because...they are made of sand!  Young readers will watch to see what happens next.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

Sandcastle was a beautiful book about creativity and imagination. A young girl builds a sand castle in a grand way and soon all the kings, queens and knights come to visit. But it doesn't stay grand and glorious for long. I love the illustrative details, the imagination of the story and the spirit of playfulness throughout the book.

With great imagination you can build any kind of sandcastle. It is glorious and big. Kings and queens come and everybody loves it until they find sand in the most inappropriate places. But sandcastles do not last forever, until you can build again.

This book is beyond imagination when it comes to sand castles and how everyone is so captured by them. Your kiddos will love this but prepared to build a sandcastle of your own!

A Special Thank you to Candlewick Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review