This is the sensory joy of summer bottled into a story—with textured, sandy illustrations that make you want to dig your toes in the page. A beautiful reminder that memories are the best souvenirs of all.

In Bringing the Beach Home, we travel with Rowan, a young boy caught in his parents' separation. He is tired of the back and forth between his homes and feels he is always driving around. His dad surprises him with a trip to the beach. At first, Rowan isn't a big fan, but with patience and gentle encouragement from his dad, he relaxes and finds peace in the water. After a lovely day, he uses his souvenirs (shells, rocks, and a driftwood stick) to make a wind chime, which brings that sense of peace home with him. I really like this story, as someone who also feels most at home on a beach. It also did a wonderful job of portraying an accurate preschooler and his big feelings. The art is gentle and peaceful, matching the story well.
At the end of the story there is a page dedicated to "crafting with our feelings", including suggested materials, tips, and reassurances in case it doesn't turn out the way you want. They also specified to make sure that you take materials from nature in a respectful way that does not cause harm, something that can often be forgotten.

A lovely book about navigating feelings about things we can’t control. The beach is used as an example of how something’s in life require us to “go with the flow” . The last few pages highlight how crafting can help us process our feelings. Illustrations were beautiful I especially love the colors used.

I thought this book was very cute! The creativeness from this book could be used in the real world and gives a great craft idea for your next beach trip! It was a delicate touch on divorced parents and the challenges children face when having two homes.

Bringing the Beach Home was a sweet, well illustrated read about connecting with and appreciating nature and navigating big emotions when splitting time between separated parents. I also appreciated the e example of creativity presented by the characters and the creativity tips provided at the end of the book. Overall a cute read.

"Still feeling the hug from the beach" 🌊

This was really cute and illustrated well. Some of the text was difficult to read because it was white on some really light-colored backgrounds, but other than that it was a sweet story!

I loved this book! The author tackles topics revolving around big feelings for littles and does it well! I especially loved how Rowan was spending time with his father and that they find a way to make their time together special but also simple. The author also highlighted to using creativity to create memories which I loved as well. Overall a great read and I know my kids would love it!