Sand Sister

by Amanda White, Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)

A little girl misses having anyone to play with on the beach - until she realizes she can create a companion of her own. But what will she do when her sand sister must return to the sea? This touching story is all about the power of the imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Latinx, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2004

About the author

Amanda White was born in London in 1965 where she lived until moving to Cornwall in 2002. She began getting her poetry published at 19 and her work has been in many magazines, newspapers and anthologies with two full length collections of her own. She also writes childrens books, has contributed to travel guides for Time Out, film scripts (latest triptych of shorts with director Andrew Gillman www.itsnotmyfault.info) and is working on an older childrens book right now. She also worked as a literary agent and edited books including Chris Kitch's Pavement for My Pillow, an uplifting story of a former drug addict who had lived on the streets. She works as a Creative Practitioner running writing courses within education and health settings. As writer in residence for Tintagel she worked with the community to produce a wall of words poem cut into slate in the town square and on individual touchstones.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Paloma and her parents go to the beach, Paloma (who is an only child) is a bit lonely and wishes she had a brother or sister with whom she might play, like many of the other children at the beach. Her wish is heard by Old Daddy Big Rock, who then creates a sister from the beach sand for Paloma. And until the tide comes in, Paloma and her sand sister (whose name of course is Sandy) run and play on the beach like real siblings, like real sisters (and they even have a typical "sibling" fight). When Sandy disappears with the tide, Paloma is very sad and actually even more lonely than before, but her parents do have a wonderful surprise announcement for her.

Now I know that many children will likely greatly enjoy Sand Sister, and Amanda White's loving descriptions of Paloma and Sandy's beach ramblings, games and general fun are indeed very sweet, very evocative of playtime, imagination, of the ocean and the beach. But for me, the story also feels somewhat majorly depressing, and even infuriating, and not so much because Paloma is an only child, but more because her parents seem rather annoyingly clueless with regard to their daughter's needs and emotions. While reading Sand Sister, I keep wondering why the parents do not realise that their daughter is lonely and sad at having no playmate with whom to enjoy the beach, why they do not attempt to spend least some time with Paloma, why she is basically and totally left to her own devices, to basically entertain herself for the entire time. For the parents seemingly just deposit Paloma on the beach and then really do not think about her again until it is time to go home. As the parents of an only child and in my opinion, they should really be spending at least a bit of time playing with their daughter, or at the very least making sure she is not lonely, that she is actually enjoying her excursion to the beach. Thus while I do enjoy reading about Paloma and Sandy's playtime and adventures, much of Sand Sister actually feels more depressing and poignantly sad than in any way heartwarming and uplifting. And while I would still recommend Sand Sister, if I were reading this to a child or a group of children, I would most definitely discuss what I consider the rather clueless and somewhat neglectful actions and behaviour of Paloma's parents, and that for me, Paloma's parents spending time playing with their daughter on the beach would be much more positive and more natural than the girl having to wish for a sand sister, an imaginary and temporary playmate.

Now with regard to the accompanying illustrations, for the most part, I really do enjoy Yuyi Morales' pictures; they display a wonderful colour scheme, capturing both the magic of the ocean, the beach and the somewhat ethereal loveliness and wonder of Sandy, Paloma's imaginary "sister" (the sea green outfit worn by Sandy, the shells in her hair, they all make her seem rather different from Paloma, almost like a mermaid who has risen out of the sea). However, I do tend to find that some of the dimensions and measurements of especially Yuyi Morales' human figures do not always seem to completely mesh all that well, as the feet depicted appear a bit shapeless and Paloma's head at times seems almost too big and massively round for her rather small body. But generally, and for all intents and purposes, the illustrations are indeed magical, providing an evocative complement to and mirror of the text (and in fact, with Sand Sister, I would go so far as to say, that I like, that I appreciate Yuyi Morales' accompanying illustrative offerings rather a bit more than Amanda White's at times somewhat problematic and saddening presented narrative).

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this illustrator and I really enjoyed these pictures, though they’re not my very favorite art by her, but they were so recognizable as being by her, and are such an integral part of the story, and I think they’re lovely.

The story sure wrapped up neatly, and is good for children about to have a new sibling or maybe children who have siblings, but not necessarily uplifting for unhappy only children. (I have too many photos to count of myself at ages 3 & 4 playing by myself at the beach, where I’d go with my father, the photographer.)

Here a girl goes with both her parents to the beach, and she is lonely watching all the other children play with their brothers and sisters, but a sister made of sand is created for her and, along with some lovely imagination, she has fun playing the day away, and then her parents have some big news for her.

This would have depressed me had I been exposed to this at ages 4-8, and maybe would have confused me at ages 2 & 3. I think most children, no matter what their sibling status, will find it enjoyable.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paloma experiences a day of seaside enchantment in this lovely picture-book from English author Amanda White and Mexican-American illustrator Yuyi Morales. Left to her own devices during a family outing to the beach, and mindful that all the other children seem to have siblings and playmates with whom they can spend the day, she draws a girl in the sand, wishing with all her might that she had a sister of her own. When Big Daddy Rock overhears her whispered desire, he grants her wish, and Sandra (nicknamed "Sandy") comes to life for the day. Playing in the water, creating sand sculptures, even arguing with one another - their day is full of joy, and passes all too quickly. But when Sandy returns to the sea, as return she must, will Paloma be all alone again...?

An engaging story that can be read in multiple ways - as a tale of a child's imaginary friend, as a magical fantasy-adventure, as a story of an only child who is about to become an older sister - Sand Sister also has great visual appeal. As is usual with Yuyi Morales' work, I really enjoyed the illustrations here, with their deep, earthy palette, occasional "sparkle" to enliven a scene (and give it a magical quality), and expressive faces. Chosen as one of our July selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is seaside/beach reading, it is a book I would recommend for summer story-hour fun!

[Crystal Marcos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Sand Sister illustrations. I think the illustrator’s color choices were perfect for a day at the beach, both warm and inviting. A little girl, Paloma, goes to the beach with her parents for the day and feels a bit lonely when she sees other children playing with their siblings. She wishes she had a sister to play with and draws one out of a piece of driftwood in the sand. (Drawing in driftwood at the beach is certainly something children can relate to.) This very imaginative little girl meets Old Daddy Rock and is granted her wish for a sister for the day made from sand. They spend the day as true sisters even having a big fight. At the end of the day the sand sister must go, but there is no reason to be sad, because Paloma’s parents have a surprise for her.

I found one illustration that I wish the illustrator would have represented the text better. I searched the page three times for the representation because I naturally thought it would be there. I think a child would do the same thing or a reader would want to demonstrate the text by showing it to their child.

I read this with my two year old. I know she doesn’t understand everything in the book, but she did really enjoy all the artwork. I would revisit this book again if I had the same surprise as Paloma’s parents did to share with my daughter. We are getting ready to go to the beach next month and this is a great book to get a child excited about it.

[Hannah Melberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sand Sisters was about a little girl named Paloma and her mom and dad took her down to the beach. Something was missing though, a sibling. Paloma was an only child and she was sad that she didn’t have anyone to play with like all the other children at the beach. She drew a little girl in the sand that looked like her but with curly hair. A rock started talking to her and out appeared the little girl in her sand drawing. The rock told her that she is the only one who can see her and she will be here till the tide comes back in. They played and played and had the best time but when the tide came back in Sandra was gone. When it was time to go mom and dad told Paloma that she was going to have a new baby brother or sister and she cried tears of joy. I thought this was a very creative book and had great illustrations that matched the text very well. This would be a great book to have in my future classroom.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book is about a young girl named Palamo who goes to a beach with her family. She has nobody to play with so she draws in the sand. She drew a another little girl, who was her sand sister. She got her wish granted for the day and her sand sister came to life for a while until she got taken away. The illustrations in this book are so amazing. So creatively done. I loved looking at them. I found this book very relatable seeing that I'm pretty much the only child. Times do get lonely when being a little girl at home. But lucky for this girl, she will not be lonely again because come to find out her mother is pregnant. The little girl will now have a bother or sister to play with. I would definitely recommend this book to young children as early as four years old. I think they would enjoy and maybe relate to it.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Split rating: a four for the browns and beiges used to depict the beach; a four for the story of an only child wanting a sibling so she imagines one which is so very typical of only children; and a two for the "dreams do come true" rather sappy ending to the story. The imaginary playmate theme would have been sufficient.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations are the strong point of this book, story is a little uneven, feels like a folktale at the beginning, then a magical imaginary friend story, finally a “you’re going to be a big sister” story. Any way you take it, the illustrations are lush and lovely.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a little girl named Palamo who parent's take her to the beach but she becomes lonely because there's nobody for her to play with. So using her imagination Palamo draws a picture of a little girl in the sand . She then comes across an Old Daddy Rock on the beach that granted her a which. her friend came out from the imagine of the sand and became her friend until the tide came up. This is when her friend sand sister sandy went away. But her parent's had a surprise for Palamo. She was told that her mom was having a brother or sister and that she will not be alone anymore.

[Sam Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the genre of books about kids preparing for siblings, this one stands out. It's an actual story with lots of feelings, not a saccharine rehash of how a kid is supposed to feel (jealousy, love, etc). Bonus points for Latina leads and the beautiful illustrations of Yuyi Morales.

[Gina Pecoraro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Format: Picture Book
Interest Level: K-2

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yuyi Morales' art for Sand Sister shines with the golden hues of the sand and sun at your favorite oceanside spot. Lovely and charming as a day at the beach.

[Morgan Phillips]

Getting a new sibling, sharing, Mexican culture

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the pictures of the book. However, I just am missing the point of the book. To me, it was unrealistic and a little bit sad and promoted this imaginary friend who just comes and goes with the tide for the sole purpose of playing with the girl. Maybe I missed something…

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art. I thought the story was going to end up being too sad, but it wasn't as bad as I feared.