Jules vs. the ocean

Jessie Sima

Book - 2020

Determined to build "the biggest, fanciest, most excellent sandcastle" to impress her sister, Jules is foiled again and again by the ocean.

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers [2020]
Language
English
Main Author
Jessie Sima (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
48 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm
Audience
Ages 4-8.
Grades K-1.
ISBN
9781534441682
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Inexperienced but determined to excel at building sand castles on the beach, Jules lugs two bucketloads of sand to the water's edge, dumps them upside down, and calls her big sister over to admire her castle. "SLOSH!" A wave washes it away. Wondering if the ocean is hostile, Jules tries again. "SLAP!" Now a wave takes her castle and her bucket. It even buries her feet in wet sand. The ocean doesn't do such things on purpose, Jules' sister explains, helping Jules build an enormous castle farther from the waves, which gradually creep up until . . . "CRASH!" A wave levels their creation but returns the bucket. The girls high-five, calling the deluge "MOST EXCELLENT!" Within a seemingly simple story, this book takes its main character through a wide-ranging sequence of emotions. The clear, natural-sounding text reads aloud well, and large-type words and capitalization indicate which words to emphasize. In the digital artwork, the rounded lines and harmonious colors set a pleasing tone while depicting the characters expressively. This sunny picture book recreates a child's memorable encounter with nature.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

When Jules's big sister bounds into the ocean, boogie board in tow, Jules makes plans to impress her via "the BIGGEST... FANCIEST... MOST EXCELLENT castle that has ever been built." Believing that "Maybe the Ocean will help!" she starts building right at the water's edge. But the sea seems determined to thwart her; its waves take not only her castles, but her green-handled bucket, too. Her sister assures her that the pathetic fallacy is all in her imagination ("This happens to everyone"), and together they collaborate on a giant, shell-studded free-form castle that meets all of Jules's criteria. After the ocean sends what seems to be the biggest wave of all crashing into it, the sisters share a moment of devil-may-care elation, dramatically recounting the events to their mother. Sima (Spencer's New Pet) fills her pages with humor: the waves that initially take out Jules's castles look comically sinister, and when the girl loses her bucket, her prone, face-down expression of defeat is worthy of Charlie Brown. The forces of nature and impermanence may be beyond our control, but Sima finds the funny in it. Ages 4--8. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (June)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--Sima revels in a Miami-inspired palette full of tans, pinks, and turquoise in this ode to sisterhood and the beach. Jules, who has brown hair and a sharp bob, yearns to build a "most excellent" sandcastle, one to catch the eye of her bodyboarding older sister, but the waves keep destroying her creations. The text conveys Jules's frustration, but the illustrations do not render the ocean a particularly dynamic nemesis. Sima relegates the frothy water to the edges of her beachy scenes, refocusing the central tension from a tussle between Jules and the ocean to the girl's battle with her own expectations. Some readers may find Jules's aggravation misplaced--why not build further away from the surf?--but others will sympathize with her determination and desire to impress her sister. Near the end, the siblings join forces to celebrate the power of the ocean, and a verbal refrain from the beginning returns, which makes the subsequent six pages feel slack and unnecessary, notwithstanding the beauty of Sima's beachy sunset. VERDICT Sima's visual style radiates her usual appeal, but a lack of focus in both text and illustrations threatens to wash this story out.--Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Intent on impressing her older sister at the beach, Jules plans to build a big sandcastle. When the waves foil her plans, she assumes "the Ocean" is "out to get her." There's much humor, such as in the way Jules defiantly stares down her nemesis, saying, "Not today, Ocean." Expect giggles when she loses her bucket to the waves, dejectedly collapses on the sand, and determines there's "no hope." After her sister comes in from the waves and puts down her boogie board to tell Jules the ocean isn't her enemy, they work together. Here, the book's sunny, bright full-bleed spreads are juxtaposed with ones featuring small vignettes of the girls bonding, constructing a splendid sandcastle as a team; this pacing change builds the drama at the story's close when a massive wave destroys their co-creation. In the triumphant double-page spread that follows, though, they engage in an exuberant high five (after a brief moment of shock), having enjoyed the spectacle of it all. Sound effects are used to dramatic effect, as the ocean waves meet the shore: "SPLASH!" "SLAP!" "CRASH!" The cheerful palette is the star of the show, with its bright pinks (swimsuits, bucket, and beach towels), blues (ocean, sky), and vivid yellows (sun). A funny, felicitous summer read. Julie Danielson May/June 2020 p.109(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Little Jules is determined to impress her big sister with an amazing sand castle… …but the Ocean has other plans! Sima's story hinges on Jules' adoration of her big sister (unnamed and with slightly darker brown skin than Jules' and their mom's). When Mom brings them to the beach, Jules immediately starts building while her sister goes off with a boogie board. Jules toils away, and as the tide rolls in, the Ocean demolishes her creation. While Jules takes the Ocean's destruction personally, her sister says, "this happens to everyone" before heading back out to the waves. Jules is discouraged as she sees other kids' impressive, still-standing sand castles, but she persists only to be thwarted again by the Ocean. Her lowest point comes when the tides sweep away her bucket. Big sister comes to the rescue--not to save it but to help build another castle, using only their hands. It's "definitely the BIGGEST…FANCIEST…MOST EXCELLENT" castle, but then, "Uh-oh." A massive, spread-spanning CRASH! both obliterates the castle and leaves Jules and her sister exhilarated, and they race back to tell their mom what's happened. In a twist that feels lifted from a Bob Graham story, "Mom assures them that happens to everyone." Sima's big-nosed cartoons are also reminiscent of Graham's, in both the character-developing details (Jules' ears stick out through her bobbed haircut endearingly) and their obvious affection for one another. A sweet sisterhood seaside story. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.