Ladybug Nominee

Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry and Juana Martinez-Neal (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2020)

No-nonsense Captain Swashby has lived his life on the sea, by the sea, and with the sea--his oldest friend. He loves his quiet life just as it is: sandy and serene. But when new neighbors settle in next door and disrupt his solitude, could it be that the sea knows exactly what he needs? This sweet-and-salty story reminds us that it's never too late to turn the tide and make new friends.

About Beth Ferry

Beth Ferry is a children's book author who has spent her life in love with the sea. So many of her best childhood memories involve the surf and the sand and the salty air. After she grew up, Beth moved as close to the sea as she could be, and she and her husband raised their family there. A childhood by the beach was the best gift they could think to give their children, a trio of salty imps. Now that her children are grown, Beth enjoys taking her bulldog, Chaucer, to the beach. He is an avid chaser of seagulls and a fearless stomper of waves. Her website is https://www.bethferry.com

About Juana Martinez-Neal

Juana Martinez-Neal was born and raised by the Pacific Ocean in Lina, the capital of Peru. From the windows of her house in Miraflores, she could feel the humid air, smell the salty sea, and see the circling light of El Faro de la Marina. Much like the little girl in this book, Juana once tried to make friends with the lighthouse keeper of El Faro. She now lives in the desert of Arizona with her family and escapes to the beach every chance she gets. Juana made her author-illustrator debut with Alma and How She Got Her Name, which was nominated for the Ladybug Picture Book Award and was a Caldecott Honor book in 2019. She also illustrated Ladybug nominees La Princessa and the Pea and Frybread.  Her web site is https://juanamartinezneal.com/

Activities & Links

• Five Reasons to Read this Book, a video from Juana Martinez-Neal: https://youtu.be/0RZ32ldbsSY 
• A read-aloud video of this book from the Brown County Public Library (OH): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByVJAnS9zmM
  
• Learn 9 cool facts about starfish at http://awesomeocean.com/trending-now/9-cool-facts-starfish/
• Hampton Beach, NH hosts a sand sculpture event each June. Learn more at https://hamptonbeach.org/events/sand-sculpture-event/
• A booklist on making friends from The Children's Library Lady: https://childrenslibrarylady.com/books-making-friends/
• Activity: The sea changes Swashby's written messages -- what new messages can you make out of something you might write when you were feeling cranky? 
• A sandcastle craft idea: https://happytoddlerplaytime.com/sandpaper-sandcastle-craft/
  

This is one of ten titles nominated for the 2021 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

We will be posting information about a different nominee each Friday throughout the summer and will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all ten titles at Labor Day.