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By Tom Booth

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This book was a finalist for the Children's Choice Book Award in 2019.

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Author

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Gideon and his sister Audrey go to the beach every year and build a sandcastle together. But this year, Gideon made plans and wanted to build a giant sand castle all by himself. While he was trying to build it, something would knock it down again and again. So he tried again, in a new spot where nothing and no one would interrupt him. He finally did it, he built the castle and got the recognition he wanted. Yet, he saw that his sister was building one too with their parents, and that looked like way more fun. His sister let him join them, if they finished it together. He realized that success and fun is better together with those you love.

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Gideon is the main young boy in this story. Gideon is;

Independent: This year at the beach, he was now a bit older and wanted to do his own thing. He has being doing this tradition with his sister every year since, and this year he wanted to do his own thing. He wanted to find a little bit of independence. He went off and created his own master piece. He did not need help from others and even when things went wrong he fixed the problems all by himself.

Determined: Gideon even made a plan of his castle, he meant business. His castle did not fail once or twice, but it failed four times before he was able to succeed. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. But did he give up? No. He persevered through the rough times in order to succeed, and he did. He was determined to build this amazing castle, and he did. Anyone else would have given up after the second fail, but not him. It only made him more smart.

Creative: This project of his was not something simple. He made a careful and detailed plan of what he wanted to do and how he wanted to build the castle. It was not an easy one either. Then when his ideas were failing, he came up with creative ways to fix his problems as well. It seems as if he is passionate about his work, and that this project was important to him.

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Audrey is Gideon's little sister. Audrey is;

Understanding: Although she may be the younger sister, she does not act like it. When her brother went to do his own thing, she understood that and did not complain. Then, also when Gideon realized that she was having more fun with Mom and Dad, he allowed her brother to come play with them instead, even though I am sure that it hurt her feelings when he left her by herself.

Loving: Even though, her brother ditched him to be by himself this beach day, she still cares about him. She was loving and kind enough to let him back over and build her sand castle with her. She could have said no, like he did, and did her own thing, yet she wanted to be with her brother too.

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The theme is that family togetherness and sibling bonding is important. The author tells a story of two siblings. The older brother who soon realizes that being alone is way less fun than being with his family. Even though his sand castle may not be perfect, having fun with his family ios way more important than that.

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While reading this story it reminded me of me and my own siblings. WE would fight a lot and get sick of one another, but always come back to each other for support. Growing up with four older siblings was sometimes lonely. I was so much younger than them that I would be left behind a lot.  They were much older than I was, so when they went to do their own thing with their friends or by themselves it was just my parents and I. It was definitely lonely, so even though the author did not show Audrey's feelings, I know how she felt. Then as I grew up, and I started to do my own thing I can connect with Gi8deon as well. Sometimes being alone is a great idea, until you recognize that your always happier when you are with your family.