The Art and Industry of Sandcastles

by Jan Adkins

An unusual, lyrical description of the styles and functions of castles and ways in which to construct sand replicas

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Jan Adkins is an author, illustrator, designer, storyteller, and explainer. Most of his life he has unraveled snarls, straightened paths, and made a clearer understanding of complex and subtle matters. He has published more than 45 books, many of them non-fiction for young people. He was associate art director for National Geographic Magazine, 1980-88, researching and explaining science, medicine, technology and archaeology to its millions of readers. It was a job described by his editor-in-chief as “getting a doctorate every third month.” He taught editorial illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and at Maryland Institute College of Art. He has a regular 8 pp feature, “Getting Started In Boats,” in WoodenBoat Magazine and contributes often to several sailing magazines. He’s delighted to be a member of the iNKthink team that produces nonfictionminute.com (quick, check it out!). He’s one of the Eisterhold Associates (Kansas City, MO) designing and producing museum exhibits. A great deal of his satisfaction lies in nurturing and herding his 3 grandchildren in Gainesville, Florida, where he lives, and his 2 grandsons in Washington, DC. He walks, canoes, cycles, sails, and cooks, but his neighbors don’t know exactly what business he’s in. On Friday evenings you will often find him holding forth at an outdoor table with friends at his son-in-law’s Cypress & Grove Brewing Company, his version of Rick’s American Cafe.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child. The text is a blend of the archaic and silly and the drawings are both technically informative and whimsical. Little sandcastle-sized builders work alongside the author/illustrator to erect historical castles from sand, from a Saxon motte-and-bailey fort to a complex concentric castle, the Tower of London. Jan Adkins takes time to educate the young reader about what went into building an actual castle, what they were designed to defend (and defend against), and the purposes of their design elements. He ends with a 4-page illustration of the parable of the wise man and the foolish man who built houses (respectively) on rock and on sand (Matthew 7:26-27). Jan Adkins feels like the slightly loony and magically talented uncle that you would want all your children to know. You might want to keep your eye on him, but you would definitely enjoy the wonder and delight he evokes in your children.

[Nav · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is more of an attempt to educate about types of castles than real advice on building sandcastles (or even a bedtime story). The art is lovely, though.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an unbelievably cool book. How has this book been forgotten? How, when I bought it as a discarded library book, did it only have a handful of check-outs from the 70s to 2008? It is amazing.

It is handwritten and deliciously illustrated. It perfectly combines the curious nature of the real history of castles with instructions and ideas (and philosophical pondering) about sand castles. The concept is wonderful. I don't know if I would have fully appreciated this as a child, but I know there are children everywhere that would. And yet, it seems mostly forgotten.

I would love to gift this to a child that will treasure it. So I guess I'm just waiting to meet that child.

Edit: Another book that was given away that should not have been.

(My used copy was stamped: Saints Peter & Paul Salesian School 632-666 Filbert Street San Francisco, CA 94133-9990. It also has a library check-out card with the dates and names: April 24 7'3 Robert T. 3B, Dec 12 '74 Nils 3A, Mar 18 '75 Robert Tuller 5A, July 16 '75 Irio Coppola, Mar 18 1976 R. M. Tuller 6B, Oct 2 1986 Kate KB, KA, Art, Nov 11 1990 Rikki 4, Jan 27 1999 Michelle Chan 4, Feb 23 2000 Nick 1, Sep 24 1998 Sandra 1, Apr 5 2000 Jackson 1.)

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book doesn't really instruct how to build a good sandcastle (in any technical sense beyond what anyone with a bucket already knows)and seems more geared towards a youth audience (6-10 year old males are the target demographic here.)

It's got some great comparative pictures of actual castle 'blueprints', which though educational, are above the capability level of the builders who will be reading this book. It's a great effort, but doesn't really give any solid construction concepts, and is only of trivial interest to someone wanting to learn to build castles. Perhaps best saved for reading on a rainy day at the beach, when you can't make it out onto the sand, but want to get a more historical take on sandcastles.