Kate's Castle

Kate's Castle is a softcover children's picture book by Julie Lawson about a young girl who builds a sandcastle not only on the beach, but also with the power of her imagination. The lyrical verse flows with memories of a joyful seaside experience, while the soft color illustrations by Frances Tyrrell bring to life ponderings of fantastic mermaids, and mussels in a makeshift moat. A treasure ideal for reading aloud with young ones to reminisce and anticipate trips to the beach. And now the sand is moon-drenched and bare; / A silent mermaid combs her hair, / Watching the ebb of the restless tide, / She waits for another sun to rise / When Kate will gather new treasurely finds - / Moon snails and agates and sea urchin spines - / And build another castle of sand. / The castle of sand that Kate built.

Julie Lawson takes us to a place where we all existed, if only for a moment, to a castle in our youth. She uses language that "swirls and twirls" the imagination to make a little girl's day at the beach a fairy tale adventure. She, along with illustrator Frances Tyrell, present a beautiful time capsule of childhood.