Sea Glass Summer

Michelle Houts' "Sea Glass Summer" is a heartwarming picture book that beautifully captures the magic of a summer spent at the seaside. Young Thomas visits his grandmother, who gives him his late grandfather's magnifying glass, igniting his curiosity for the natural world. He becomes fascinated by sea glass, imagining its journey from a broken bottle to a polished treasure. The story gently explores themes of family connection, the power of imagination, and finding wonder in small things. It's perfect for children aged 4-11, offering a quiet, contemplative read-aloud experience that encourages observation and storytelling.

Author Michelle Houts and illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline explore the magic of one of the seaside’s greatest wonders and the bonds that link us through time. One summer, a boy named Thomas visits his grandmother at her seaside cottage. She gives him a magnifying glass that once belonged to his grandfather, and with it Thomas explores the beach, turning grains of sand into rocks and dark clamshells into swirling mazes of black, gray, and white. When his grandmother shows him a piece of sea glass, Thomas is transfixed. That night he dreams of an old shipyard and the breaking of a bottle. Could the very piece of sea glass on his nightstand have come from that bottle? For the rest of the summer, he searches for more sea glass and hopes to have dreams that will reveal more of the sea’s secrets. A stunning ode to stories and the seaside, this picture book invites readers to imagine the ocean of possibility that lives in every small or forgotten treasure.