I love building castles in the sand. So I built a sand castle. But not just any castle...One day at the beach, a little girl builds a sand castle. A real castle with domes and turrets and a crocodile moat. And a sea view. Pretty soon, the royal visitors arrive. Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses all descend on the palace to admire the sandy architecture and partake in the grand party in the Ballroom. But in the morning, the troubles begin. "There's sand in my almond strudel!" "There is sand in my suit of armour!" "There's sand in my bath!" In fact, there's sand everywhere. Is there any way to appease the royal guests? And what will happen when the tide inevitably comes in...
Little Nina will not go to bed. Not when the adults are having so much fun in the other room without her! Before her exasperated parents can catch up, Nina escapes her bedroom and races through the house, sampling cakes and just generally stirring up trouble. With Nina on the loose, a cordial family party becomes a wild good time, as her aunts and uncles join in the riotous fun. Finally it’s time for the guests to leave, and it is bedtime at last—not just for Nina, but for the entire exhausted family. Illustrated with stylishly appealing three-colour art, this is a loving, funny portrait of family life—and of what bedtime is often really like.
Could it get any worse? Two shipwrecked sailors have different views of an absurd series of dilemmas in a wry, visually lavish tale for pessimists and optimists alike.As a pair of shipwrecked sailors float on what’s left of their ship, Albertini is none too happy. The rain, he observes, is unfair enough. Then the flying fish appear overhead – the ones with the sick stomachs. And the singing mermaids, leaving infernal earworms in their wake. There’s the ghost ship full of pirates and the ark teeming with ravenous beasts. But no matter how bad the situation seems, George, cheerfully playing his harmonica, reminds his friend it could always be worse. Ahhhh! But hang on ... is that a giant whale with an overpowering case of tuna breath? Delightfully detailed illustrations add visual comedy to a meditation on tough times that shows that even the worst days can turn around – especially with friends.
