In a fabulous tale of questioning the status quo, Nye, Sand and Stones by Bree Galbraith and Marion Arbona takes us to two islands “somewhere off the coast”.

Nye lives on the Island of Sand where everyday the children head to the beach and build incredible sand castles. Unfortunately, across the water on the Island of Stones each day they fling stones destroying the beautiful castles. It happens everyday, “It’s just the way it is.” Nye just doesn’t understand why, it just doesn’t feel right. This fierce little person decides that she has had enough and that, “It’s just the way it is” is not a good enough reason.

Bree Galbraith has given readers a wonderful book that will begin a spark, a question in their minds. Why do we have to do things just because they have always been done a certain way, especially if that way doesn’t make sense? From a social justice standpoint, this story is so relatable and readers of all ages will gain insight and have an opinion about the Islands of Sand and Stone. I would challenge adults, especially educators, to share this book not only with their young readers but also their older readers, those who we traditionally think of as past the picture book stage. There can be incredibly rich conversations started with this book and about the need to question the status quo.

Every child knows that if you didn’t build it, you don’t get to break it so many, many readers will have some pretty strong feelings about the sand castle destruction. There are fabulous moments built into the text where readers can stop and think and any adults reading can ask questions about how readers would solve this sand castle destruction problem and why it’s important that Nye has challenged what always happens. Why do we think she feels the way she does? 

Another great thing about the book is sandcastles! We are heading into the nice warm weather so I can envision A LOT of sandcastle building in the near future. Readers will be inspired by the incredible creations on the Island of Sand and will want to design and build their own incredible structures making this book an excellent choice for any STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) learning. 

Marion Arbona perfectly captures the story in her incredible illustrations. The pages are filled with colour and giant sandcastles and catapults, inspiring design and creation in readers. Her take on the different people on the different islands is interesting and thought provoking.