Bringing the Beach Home Book Guide

A guide to the book 'Bringing the Beach Home' by Laura Atkins, illustrated by Evgenia Penman.

Summary

In 'Bringing the Beach Home,' Rowan experiences the magic of the beach with their Dad, transforming an initially overwhelming day into a source of peace and creativity. The story highlights the power of nature, creativity, and family bonds in navigating life transitions, offering an empowering message of resilience and connection for children.

About the Author

Laura Atkins is a children's book author, editor, and creativity coach with over thirty years in the children's book world. She also collects sea glass and creates sculptures and mobiles from shells, pebbles, and driftwood. Her work includes 'Fighting for Justice' series, 'Calling All Future Voters!', and 'Sled Dog Dachshund.'

About the Illustrator

Evgenia Penman is a children's book illustrator based in the UK, with roots in Kazakhstan. Her journey began as a graphic designer, and she is passionate about storytelling through illustration. She is dedicated to creating heartwarming stories that inspire imagination and joy.

Step 1: Connect to Nature

Nature is presented as a creative teacher, emphasizing its flexibility and responsiveness. The text encourages readers to observe and connect with nature, drawing inspiration from its processes, such as the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies, the resilience of willows, and the beauty of rainbows.

Activities suggested include:

Animal Friends: Spend time with an animal and observe its behavior.
Be a Tree: Imagine yourself as a tree, connecting with its roots, trunk, branches, and leaves.
Wander: Go outside and follow your heart, noticing inspiring elements in nature.

Readers are invited to create nature-inspired art, perhaps by making their own cards.

Step 2: Get Creative!

This section emphasizes that the process of creation is where the magic happens, and being creative is about connecting to nature and oneself. It addresses the inner critic that can hinder creativity and offers strategies to quiet these voices:

Take deep breaths and listen to your inner voice.
Step away and take a break, perhaps by playing a game or laughing.
Give yourself permission to play and experiment.
Allow creations to shift and change, embracing "happy accidents."

Creative ideas include:

At Home: Use household objects to inspire songs, plays, stories, drawings, or sculptures.
Outside: Collect natural items like flowers, sticks, feathers, and pebbles to inspire creations such as pictures or wind chimes.

Step 3: Taking Things Further

This step explores expanding creative connections, inspired by Rowan's experience and the author's own childhood memories of beachcombing and creating wind chimes with their father.

The author shares their process of collecting items like sea glass, shells, and pebbles, which led to creating sun catchers, succulent gardens, sculptures, and wire trees. This process fostered a more creative way of seeing.

Detailed instructions are provided for making a wind chime:

Gather materials: sticks, pebbles, shells, sea glass, fishing line, scissors, and glue.
Experiment with tying, gluing, and dangling shells and pebbles. Fishing line is recommended for its ease of tying, though it can be fiddly. Shells with holes are easiest to use.
Pebbles can be secured with glue or wire wrapping. Wire wrapping is suggested as an easier method.
Experimentation and imperfection are encouraged. The author shares their own wind chime, noting its unique sound.

Readers are encouraged to try any shape or method, embracing unexpected outcomes and learning along the way. Examples of the author's creations can be found on their website: https://manzanitaartisanry.weebly.com/. Creations can be shared with the author at laura@lauraatkins.com.

A video of beach items moving can be viewed here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zjHs3oU6nRrh3DMf8.

Other Ways to Be Creative: Your Own Amazing Self

This section discusses how societal expectations can influence perceptions of gender and creativity. It encourages embracing individuality, drawing inspiration from nature's acceptance of diverse forms and behaviors.

Activity: Draw and Create Your Self

Draw a picture of yourself, starting with an outline if desired.
Add creative details like unique clothing, patterns, colors, and hairstyles.
Glue items onto the picture to enhance it. Embrace freedom and self-expression.

Recommended resources:

'No One Owns the Colors' (The Collective Book Studio): https://thecollectivebook.studio/products/no-one-owns-the-colors
'The Gender and Infinity Book' (Reflection Press): https://reflectionpress.com/our-books/the-gender-infinity-book-for-kids/

Creativity and Emotional Change

Creativity is presented as a tool for expressing and working through feelings, especially during times of change or difficulty, such as moving between homes or experiencing strong emotions.

The text suggests various creative outlets like writing songs, engraving sticks, painting, walking, and spending time in nature. It emphasizes that expressing feelings through creativity can lead to a sense of lightness and renewed connection.

Activity: Create With Your Emotions

Identify and sit with your current feeling.
Choose a color that represents this feeling.
Determine if the feeling has a shape that can be drawn.
Express the feeling through movement or dance.
Create a play or story about the feeling and its expression.
Draw a picture of yourself in a natural place that resonates with your feeling.

Creating with emotions helps to process them, preventing them from feeling stuck.