It's a simple story of misunderstanding and miscommunication. One that will be understood by young children and a plot that parents can use to further the conversation of communication. It's a line and often that means verses or on one side or the other. The lack of text only allows for readers to make it their own

This book uses it's illustrations to good effect, solidly portraying the plot visually. The idiom at the heart may be a problem for young children to understand. The art is intriguingly quirky.

I love this wordless book. It’s like watching a delightful silent movie or paging through an elegantly illustrated flip-book. Plus… it has an actual story! Without words? A definite feat. Monsters! A line in the sand. Misunderstanding. Anger. Fights. Resolution. It all adds up to a charming picture book.

Recommended.

#NetGalley, #TheLineInTheSand, #Owlkids
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book.

I love wordless books that tell a wonderful story and this one definitely did not disappoint! The illustrations were beautifully done.

This wordless picture book is the perfect way to start a conversation about the significance of "a line in the sand." When the story starts we see a group of monster children having fun at the beach: building sand castles, flying kites, playing ball, using a hulu hoop, finding treasures and getting ready to play in the water. They are friendly with each other but mostly having fun doing their own thing. Then someone discovers that there is a line drawn in the sand that is separating some of them and creating "sides". What does it mean? Some are curious and come to look. some are angry and point it out to those on the other side as a warning. One of them ignores this line that divides them and just steps over it. Is that ok? Can it be crossed? Why is it there? What does it mean? Is there something wrong with those on the "other side"? Arguments ensue. Some try to erase the line. This creates a "dust up "and brings more arguments. Some draw more lines and turn it into a game. Is there a right approach?
This book is a perfect tool to help teachers, and scout or community leaders create a classroom community of caring, accepting and curious students. With teacher led discussions as the class "reads" the story together attitudes and feelings can be explored about the messages we receive from society and the feelings they generate in us. While encouraging a student to ask themselves why the lines are there (in this case the reason for the line is not discovered until the end), it also offers the opportunity to consider if it is ok to cross the line.
Although it is listed as a book for grades 1 -2 I believe that it would serve as a great resource for discussions in grades 3 and 4 as well.
I recommend "The Line in the Sand" by Thao Lim as a great book for building future citizens in a safe environment under the guidance of a nonjudgemental adult. Classroom and homeschool libraries should include this book. Since it is a wordless book I think it would difficult for an individual unfamiliar with this genre to enjoy and benefit from the story.

Unexpectedly cute wordless book. Will make readers think and come up with all kinds of ideas for the story.

Wordless picture books are so hard to do and do right, and I think this one does it right. This is about two creatures that meet at a party and a line has been drawn. But they’re trying to get each other ‘s attention and communicate when there are no words. This story could be almost anything but it’s to me it’s about playing together and finding common interests. The artwork feels both retro and 70s but a modern take. The times where there’s the speckled background or the plain background maybe that’s meant to mean dirt or sand, I’m not quite sure. What I am sure of is it all came together in a fun story that you get to create yourself. The reader gets to tell the Story Using what they interpret from the pictures. This is something kids will love to do once given chance.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Line in the Sand by Thao Lam.
This book is a great concept, inclusion vs. segregation, but it fell short for me. Without words, the images needed to give life to this story, but didn't succeed. I liked the use of monsters to show differences in the groups, but I think children would struggle with comprehending the story.

Thank you to Owlkids and Netgalley for providing this review copy. All opinions are my own. This is a very sweet book that teaches young children how to peacefully resolve an argument. Without words, the author does a fantastic job of telling a story of monsters playing on two sides of a line at the beach. These monsters then find a line drawn between them by another monster who's been dragging a stick in the sand, but they aren't sure what to make of it. Through a series of expressive and increasingly silly illustrations, the monsters eventually learn that the line is entirely arbitrary and to get along and play all together. This book would be perfect for any social emotional learning curriculum, or for parents looking for a way to teach siblings to solve their conflicts independently. The fun expressions keep children engaged and help them see that there are many ways to tell stories. This would make a great addition to any public or school library, and a fun story time selection that children can return to again and again to find more details in the illustrations.

The Line in the Sand
by Thao Lam
Pub Date: September 13, 2022
Owlkids
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I am totally in love with Thao Lam.
I watched a webinar where several authors of this publisher were featured and it was delightful!!
This children's book with no words is very awesome. Our protagonists are very expressive and clearly convey the plot. What's the plot? A monster drags a stick and draws a line in the sand. What do you do when there's a line in the sand? This book shows that it's all about what you decide.
4 stars

This children's book with no words is very awesome. Our protagonists are very expressive and clearly convey the plot. What's the plot? A monster drags a stick and draws a line in the sand. What do you do when there's a line in the sand? This book shows that it's all in what you decide.

Thanks to Netgalley and Owlkids Books for a free digital copy.

I think this book is just above my comprehension. It's told only in pictures and I just cannot follow and am not sure how I would "read" this book with my child.

Lam shows the power of images and illustrations. Messages can be conveyed in powerful pictures and people can learn to understand each other without words.

Our main creature character walks down the beach while dragging a stick behind him. This leaves a long line dug into the sand behind them. There are a group of other creatures playing together and having fun, but now there is a line in their play area. A line that divides them. They spend the rest of the book inspecting the line and what it means. Can they cross the line, and if they can, should they cross it? Things escalate over this simple misunderstanding and soon it becomes an us vs. them situation where tempers flare. How to we bridge differences, communicate with others, and accept differences rather than finding ways to divide us. It also has a powerful theme of mine and ours as well as sharing.

This book can be used to teach a hundred different lessons, from solving conflict, to tolerance, to how we as a society separate people into groups, prejudices, segregation and more. It shows us to be aware of the lines we may mentally draw unintentionally, keeping us from being open and approaching someone who might be different. When we cross that line and open our eyes with empathy and compassion we realize we are not all that different after all.

An adorable wordless picture book that shows how pointless many of arguments are. The main characters begin to fight when one crosses a line drawn in the sand. Through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, the fight escalates quickly and the line in the sand is erased. The characters soon see the ridiculousness of the situation and laugh.

This was an ok picture book. It contained no words but the pictures did a good job explaining what was happening. It gave a good lesson on sharing and not dividing things up between “yours” and “mine”.

The Line in the Sand is a wordless book which gives children a chance to explore their imagination as they tell the story, No children will tell the same tale and a child's story telling may change and grow with them. A fun addition to your picture book collection.

This wonderfully illustrated “silent” children’s book by the acclaimed Thai Lam tells an amusing story of two different creatures who are very serious about the line that runs between them. Neither of them are willing to let the other cross the line, and in doing so they both miss out on out on all the fun being had on both sides.

Even without text, Lam has always had a wonderful way of telling a in depth story with just the use of his unique illustrations.

Another 4+/5

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This is a wordless picture book that would be good to teach many reading concepts. I would use it to teach conflict resolution, inferencing, and sequence of events. Wordless picture books have more details in them for the reader to understand them.

A simple wordless story about how to get along even when we might not agree. Learning to laugh at our selves and love those around us. Short and Sweet.

This story is filled with bright attention grabbing images! Stories without words are a great way to allow children to make a story their own and to grab their own creativity. Will definitely be including this in my classroom as a starting point to discuss conflict resolution.