An evocative bedtime picture book that distills the essence of a family summer at the beach--skin sticky with salt, sandy feet, waves hush-hushing, and a shell under the pillow.

Summer holidays by the sea have a rhythm all their own. With a few resonant images, Cowley takes us straight to the end of a long hot day with beach treasures under the pillow and the salty smell of the sea. The cadence of the final words echoes the shushing waves in a gentle signal of time for readers to sleep--"good day, good sea, good sand, good night."

This simple poem by internationally renowned author Joy Cowley transports the reader to a childhood summer with language that asks to be read over and over. Hilary Jean Tapper's warm watercolor-and-ink illustrations add an inclusive cast of extended family, friends, and children of different ages.