Paul outlines the shape of an elephant in his sand box, and is delighted when his sand elephant comes to life and takes him to the magical Sandcastle Land. There he meets other children and their sand animals, and they all play together in the castle. But a storm blows up and and washes the sand flat, and the children must call to their sand animals to revive them.

I loved this whimsical and imaginative story! It speaks to me so strongly of my childhood playing with imaginary animal friends in a fairy tale castle. Anything can happen in a child’s world of dreams.

The elephant is such a robust and steady character, and I love how he leads Paul through all their adventures. The whole story is just delightful!
I like the beautiful illustrations and how the speckled sand takes shape. Each scene is designed with whimsy and creativity. The only thing I didn’t like was the human character’s hands. The hands look lumpy and strange somehow. Sometimes their arms look misshapen or they are held at weird angles. It distracted me and pulled me out of the story.

Overall, this is a fun and creative story that I enjoyed very much!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.