Starfish Summer

Written by Ona Gritz-Gilbert, Illustrated by Yong Chen
HarperCollins Publishers, Summer, 1998.
ISBN 0-06-027-193-0

A chapter book for ages 7-10. Watercolor painting for the cover and 19 black and white illustrations. 88 pages.

Book Summary: Mama's girl! Mama's girl! That's what the kids in school call Amy. But this summer Amy's going to visit her great-aunt Jenny at the beach while Mom's away on business. Amy thinks it's the perfect chance to prove that she's not a mama's girl. But Amy's high hope of learning how to ride a bike and making new friends fall flat when Crystal, the only other girl Amy's age, seems to dislike Amy. Does Crystal think Amy's a mama's girl, too? Amy's disappointed at first, but soon she's soaking up the warmth of this quirky seaside community.

[Children's Literature] Young Amy is having trouble adjusting to a summer away from her mother. She is visiting her Great Aunt Jenny at the beach. Besides missing her mother, Amy is disappointed when her efforts at making friends with a neighbor girl are rebuffed. Luckily the other, mostly elderly, neighbors are kind and one of them, blind Mr. Fine, is especially understanding and supportive. This low-key, realistic story would be a good choice for beginning chapter book readers. Read More Reviews.

Through illustrating the Starfish Summer children's book, I learned much about starfish. How the starfish grow and live.

[Something about Starfish] Starfish are usually sluggish, have five or six arms and get pretty stiff when you try to pick them up. The Sunflower Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) breaks all of these stereotypes. It typically has around 20 arms, moves, practically flows, quite gracefully across the surface, and is soft to the touch. Read More About Starfish.