Jules vs. the Ocean

by Jessie Sima, Jessie Sima (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creator of Not Quite Narwhal comes a story about a young girl determined to impress her older sister by building elaborate sandcastles, even if that means standing up to the ocean and its smash-happy waves!

Jules is going to build the biggest, the fanciest, and the most excellent sandcastle. Her sister will be so impressed.

But the ocean has other plans.

Jules keeps building bigger, fancier, and more excellent castles, and waves keep smashing them.

And when the ocean takes her bucket, that is the final straw.

Jules is going to take a stand!

From beloved storyteller Jessie Sima comes the tongue-in-cheek story of the sand, the sea, and sisterhood—told with their signature warmth, timeless humor, and delightfully playful illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534441682
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	508,760
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jessie Sima is the author and illustrator of bestselling picture books, including Not Quite Narwhal; Love, Z; Hardly Haunted; and more. They grew up in a small town in southern New Jersey and now write and draw in a creaky house in New York state. When not making books, Jessie can be found reading graphic novels, watching scary movies, and playing outside with dogs. You can visit them online at JessieSima.com.

Jessie Sima is the author and illustrator of bestselling picture books, including Not Quite Narwhal; Love, Z; Hardly Haunted; and more. They grew up in a small town in southern New Jersey and now write and draw in a creaky house in New York state. When not making books, Jessie can be found reading graphic novels, watching scary movies, and playing outside with dogs. You can visit them online at JessieSima.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/06/2020

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)

Publishers Weekly

"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." - Booklist

" 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 detail (Jules' ears stick out through her bobbed haircut endearingly) and their obvious affection for one another. A sweet sisterhood seaside story." - Kirkus Reviews

"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." - Publishers Weekly

“Readers and viewers alike will appreciate the simplicity of a day at the beach where the only worry is how to make a remarkable sandcastle.” - BCCB

"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." - Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

04/01/2020

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

School Library Journal

2020-02-09
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)

Kirkus Reviews