Bea by the Sea

Bea just loves lions, and has vast library of information books on the species. She also dreams about them. Would lions like bubble baths? Do they visit the dentist? But living beside the sea is a problem for Bea, for she just HATES sand. She thinks it is too gritty, too sticky and too scratchy, especially when it gets between her toes. When Mum persuades her to come to the beach for the day, (Bea with her wellies on,) they find it full of sand sculptures, including one of a large life-size lion. Having miraculously come to life, Lion befriends Bea and soon they are playing all sorts of games which involve removing her boots and slowly learning to enjoy the feel of the sand. Meantime, Lion reveals that his fear is of the water, as Bea eventually goes into the sea to get the sand from her hands. Both characters are helped to overcome a dislike/fear by sharing it. Young readers will enjoy reading about how Bea comes to love the beach, even when next day they return, searching for Sandlion, only to find all the sculptures washed away by the tide. The final page shows a delighted Bea who then makes her very own lion sculpture, with a mane as prickly and bobbled as her own. The endpapers are littered with information boxes; at the front, centred on lions. Did you know a male lion’s roar can be heard up to 8km away? Or that lions may sleep for up to 20 hours a day? They are top hunters, eating buffalo, deer, warthog, wildebeest and zebra… and it is usually the females that hunt. The book closes with endpapers full of information about sand. Did you know that the tallest sandcastle ever built (so far!) measured 17.65metres? It was built in Germany in 2019. The longest beach is in Brazil, about 240km long. Sand is used to make glass, concrete and bricks. These papers add a finishing touch to a gentle book and will encourage readers to explore them for themselves.