Lula and the Sea Monster

by Alex Latimer

Lula's home on the beach is going to be torn down to make room for a highway, but can she put a stop to it with the help of a friend from the sea?

Lula loves living by the sea, but her family must move away soon. Counting down the days until she leaves, Lula walks along the beach to find keepsakes and discovers something much more valuable than a souvenir.

Lula befriends a small sea monster that she names Bean. Each day Lula returns to the beach to feed him. And each day Bean grows bigger and bigger. But what will happen to Lula's new friend once she moves away?

From popular children's book author-illustrator Alex Latimer, this moving story of friendship and bravery carries a light environmental message for future activists.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Environment, Friendship, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2019

About the author

Alex Latimer lives near the border of a national park so when not writing or drawing, he spends his free time shooing baboons out of his lounge. The Boy Who Cried Ninja is his first book for children. He lives in South Africa.

Reviews

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book had a cool opportunity to represent (even a little bit!) community organizing against displacement and for environmental justice, within the cute and accessible package of its story -- and though the illustrations show a couple light-skinned people standing around with protest signs, Latimer doesn't take things much further.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

To my, perhaps too cynical eye, this is a story of a family that will eventually lose their house to erosion and a child who harbors an invasive species that eventually wreaks havoc on the ecosystem? It had a very 80's movie "big business is coming in and building a highway so your lil family has to get out" kind of vibe, but in a tired way and not in a fun way.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lula lives happily near the sea with her family. But that will soon come to an end; the family will be forced to move when a new highway is installed along the beach.

Lula meets a creature in the ocean, and the two become quick friends. Lula's friend rapidly gains in size, and soon the creature is an enormous sea monster. The sea monster is quick to come to the rescue of Lula and her family in a surprise defense of Lula's home by the sea.

This is a story of the joys of friendship and nature conservancy with bright cheerful illustrations.

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in 365 Kids Books challenge and bid to get back on the Top 100 Readers list for full explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia

Ah, yes. As a fan of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, the title had instant appeal. And I like Latimer's art. Sadly the Kindle version from Overdrive wouldn't let me zoom in. Guess I will have to try Libby again.

Library copy

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lula leaves right next to the ocean, but she will have to move soon so they can pave a new highway. Lula is sad, but tries to forget after she becomes friends with a teeny tiny "sea monster" whom she names "Bean". Lula feeds Bean every day and continues to get bigger and bigger... A cute story about how helping others enables them to help you. Good story plot and super cute illustrations. Highly recommend.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl inadvertently saves her home by being kind to a tiny sea creature. Reminds me of those fairytales when someone goes through the woods and is kind to the old witch.

[Iva Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantasy tale where sea monster saves Lula's home. It was a very big home that the bulldozers would have torn down which I thought not very realistic when I work with inner city children. It was just ok story for me; there could have been more about protests in peaceful way rather than a fantasy monster to save the day.

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Lula And The Sea Monster by Alex Latimer, a nature-loving tale of friendship and courage.

Lula has lived all her life in her cozy home on the beach with her parents, but that’s all about to change. A big highway is being built, and despite protests, Lula and her family must leave. In her final days beachside, Lula wanders the shoreline and tidepools, soaking up her memories and love of her home. It’s during one of these walks that she finds a tiny creature, the tiniest she’s ever seen, attempting to escape a hungry seagull. After chasing off the seagull, moving her new little friend to a safer spot, and sharing a few snacks from her packed lunch, Lula names the tiny, pink squid-like fellow Bean, and promises to return to check on him tomorrow. And sure enough, Bean is there waiting for her the next day – but twice the size he was the day before! With each passing day (and each friendly meal Lula shares with her friend), Bean grows larger and larger, soon towering over the little girl, until the day he seems to simply disappear. That afternoon, as Lula’s parents are packing up their home and the bulldozers are bearing down on them, the young girl is suddenly fed up with this intrusion, and faces down the machines on behalf of the creatures of the shoreline… along with a rather LARGE surprise visitor who comes to support her protest.

Very cute. The story is a nice lesson in the importance of every tiny creature, and the equal importance of our kindness to them. It’s a message that can be taken both literally and figuratively, and results in a happy ending for all involved by the end (except, perhaps, the frightened bulldozer operators). The resolution is a little telegraphed, but counters this with a touch of wry humor and a great deal of heart; the bond between the adorable-at-any-size Bean and Lula is undeniably charming. The artwork is sweet, yet captures the tone of the oceanside setting and even the high stakes for Lula’s family very well through choices in color and shadow. The length is perfect, and JJ really enjoyed this one. A heartwarming environmentalist tale with a twist, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Mrs. Walker Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The colourful cover of this book drew me and after reading this book for the first time, I am very intrigued and interested to share this book with students to gain their perspective. This is an important read aloud as adults can help guide the discussions throughout this story and help young readers read through the lines to discover that small acts of kindness can lead to great things.
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This book is about a girl named Lulu who lives happily near the sea with her family. When they receive the news that their beachfront property will soon be the home of a new highway, Lula is heartbroken. The family must move away from the beach despite their protests. As Lula begins the process to of saying goodbye to the beach, she meets a tiny and mysterious sea creature. She names him Bean and she begins to care for him every day. Each time Lula visits the sea creature, it becomes bigger and bigger and you will have to read this story to see how (the once tiny little) Bean saves the day.
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💡If you have the opportunity to read this book, I encourage you to explore and discuss the themes of…
🔸Friendship
🔸Bravery and Courage
🔸Nature conservancy
🔸Kindness
🔸Caring for the environment
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I hope young readers read take away some important lessons from this story. Especially that everyone can make a difference, no matter how little.
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Lula and the Sea Monster is written and illustrated by @almaxlat. Published by Peachtree Publishing Company @peachtreepublishing. I would love to know what Lula and her buddy Bean are up to now! I hope to read more about these characters!! Alex Latimer

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lula loves her home on the beach and spending her days searching for treasures and sea creatures, but her family is being forced to move to make room for a highway.

On one of Lula’s last days on the beach, she discovers the tiniest sea creature, no larger than a bean. Lula names him Bean, gives him a sandwich, and spends the day playing with her new friend. Over the next few days, each day Lula visits with more and more food, and Bean keeps growing at an exponential rate.

However, when moving day arrives, Bean is nowhere to be found. The bulldozers arrive and Lula decides that she’s not leaving without a fight.

“This stretch of beach was home to millions of creatures—creatures like her friend, Bean.”

This sweet story of friendship and standing up for others is filled with beautiful illustrations and little readers will have such fun searching for the hungry seagull that can be found on every spread!

Click to take a look inside the book.

[Tim Roast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book about a girl called Lula who lives by the beach. Her house is due to be knocked down as there is to be a road build on the beach (not believable to me as an adult as surely the sea would engulf it soon enough). One day Lula walks the beach doing what she loves to do best which is looking for things that have been washed up on the sand. She sees a strange creature that is "hardly bigger than a bean" but a gull is trying to eat it. She shoos away the gull and looks after the creature who she calls Bean. Next day Bean has grown a lot, and the next day too, and so on. Eventually the day comes when Lula's house is to be demolished, the bulldozers move in, but something frightens them away and Lula gets to live at her home happily ever after (until the sea destroys her house but that is not in the book).

So a simple little story with simple artwork.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lula is supposed to move because her home is to be torn down to build a superhighway. On one of her last days she walks the beach and finds a small sea creature that she saves from a sea gull. She finds it a new home and names it Bean because of its small size. The next day though it has gotten bigger so she moves it to another larger home. Bean continues to grow and becomes Lula's friend. On her last day at the house, Lula cannot find Bean and refuses to move. The bulldoze operators laugh until a very large Bean scares them away. Bean continues to protect Lula's home and Lula continues to walk the beach alongside her friend Bean. This is a sweet picture book that would be a solid addition to most picture book collections.

[Philomena Callan Cheekypee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lula loves living by the beach.
But soon, her family must leave their home to make way for a new highway.
While she counts down the days, she makes a new friend.
Can he help Lula to save their beach?

I read this to my friends five year old daughter. As I absolutely love reading it’s a great joy to read with children. They see books with fresh eyes. They love to chat about the story, the illustrations as we go along. Lula and the Sea Monster was a delight to read with her. I read it, she pointed out words she recognised and we chatted about each page.

A great read that wanted my little friend to take a trip to the beach lol

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up an unfinished copy of this picture book at Book Expo 2019. While I found this an odd little story of a young girl making friends with a unique sea monster, I think kids ages 4+ would really enjoy the creativity on the pages. Lulu’s sea monster grows to amazing proportions and helps stop the highway from coming into their small town. An environmentally conscious story, made relatable and fun for the youngest readers. Bright and engaging illustrations, with the most adorable sea monster ever. There is something really surprising and special in these pages.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story. I really like the illustrations, and the sea monster! Lula's family is going to have to move to make space for a highway along the coast, and she is very sad about moving and leaving the beach behind. While enjoying one of her last weeks at the beach, she meets Bean, who is a tiny little creature. The creature seems to grow by leaps and bounds with human food though, and soon, Bean is a giant monster. But the monster and Lula are good friends.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lula happily lived with her parents in a house by the beach, but soon they would have to move because a highway was going to be built there. One day, Lula was playing on the beach and chased a sea gull away from a tiny creature in a sea pool. Each day Lula went to play with her new friend and feed it, and every day she saw it had grown a lot from the day before. Moving day came, bulldozers arrived, and Lula's friend had other ideas about the situation. Fun illustrations.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's awfully cute, but I wish they showed the people as being a little more proactive, or even something like working with the monster.

It's a cute story of kindness, but sort of disheartening in some ways, since we don't have friendly sea monsters to do the heavy lifting for us, it's part of a good lesson but not a whole one.

[Tiny Paper Forest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super cute friendship story, with a little bit of a kindness moral and some environmentalism on the side.

My toddler really loves to read this book and the illustrations are just delightful with lots of little details to see every time we read it.

Another book that would be good if you like this one is Otto Blotter, bird spotter.

[Nate Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed a ark of this book at BEA. I thought it was a amazing children's story.

[Mary Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

If only it was this easy to stop developers...

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of this book was super cute but then it just was meh.

[Brittany]

My daughter really enjoyed this book, but it is probably because she knows Momma is terrified of squid. This is a good story with comical illustrations.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a neat little story about friendship.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Sigh* If only.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sea monster saves little girl's house and surrounding beach from highway development.

[courtnei · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story, lovely illustrations, on the fence about if this would work in storytime.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork and easy to read together. Can you find the seagull on every page?

[Keriann's Picture Book Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

That is a ludicrous place to build a highway. Do you have any idea how much ocean front property is worth? Not to mention the erosion.

[Liz Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this story could have shared a bigger idea.. it was so close, but just had a quick tidy ending and that was it.

I did love that Octopus, though.