Sea Glass Summer

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.

Michelle Houts became fascinated with sea glass while visiting the coast of Maine each summer. She is the author of When Grandma Gatewood Took a Hike, illustrated by Erica Magnus, and the STEM-based chapter-book series Lucy’s Lab, illustrated by Elizabeth Zechel. Michelle Houts is also the author of the middle-grade novel Winterfrost. She lives in Ohio.

Bagram Ibatoulline has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Great Joy, both by Kate DiCamillo; and The Hawk of the Castle by Danna Smith. Bagram Ibatoulline lives in Chichester, New York.