About this item
Highlights
- Look Both Ways meets Seedfolks in this masterful novel from two titans of kid lit that follows a diverse cast of young people whose lives intersect in surprising and hilarious ways over the course of a summer day.Here's what's so cool about the beach.
- 8-12 Years
- 8.4" x 5.7" Hardcover
- 224 Pages
- Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes
Description
About the Book
In pre-publication, Koertge was listed as the primary author.Book Synopsis
Look Both Ways meets Seedfolks in this masterful novel from two titans of kid lit that follows a diverse cast of young people whose lives intersect in surprising and hilarious ways over the course of a summer day.
Here's what's so cool about the beach. Kids are everywhere! Kids you know, kids you want to know. Wandering from one blanket to another, from one family to another. Somebody's mom reads a fat summer novel. Somebody's dad snores with an iPad on his chest. Babies cry. Girls laugh. Frisbee players whoop! Kites in the perfect blue sky.
Some kids bodysurf. Some don't even like the water. They build sand cities for their friends and sand jails for the grown-ups, and when the tide comes in everything gets washed away.
There's the other world, where all kids hear is tomorrow, next week, next year. And then there's the beach, where everything is right now!
Why can't every day be a day at the beach?
From two-time Newbery honoree Gary D. Schmidt and two-time PEN Award winner Ron Koertge comes a moving and often laugh-out-loud funny middle grade novel about family, friendship, and belonging, told by a group of kids spending a day at the beach. Thoughtful vignettes brilliantly weave together an irresistible tale of tween conflict and connections.
Review Quotes
Most Anticipated Middle Grade Reads of 2025 -- School Library Journal
"A sandy slice-of-life treat, rich in feeling and insight." -- Kirkus Reviews
"The array of stories asks the reader to laugh, worry, and love while also providing a realized community that invites them in. Heart-wrenching and robust."
-- Booklist
"This multi-viewpoint narrative highlighting tween interactions among family and friends will be enjoyed by many readers."
-- School Library Journal