Sandy and the Dancing Waves

About the Book

Sandy and the Dancing Waves takes a very simple and delightful approach to science and helps explain how a pearl is formed from a piece of sand and an oyster. The book stars Sandy, a delightful character with whom young children can identify.

Sandy, the adventurous grain of sand, enjoys fun in the sun on the beach riding the waves with her friends but she wants more. Through a rough ride on the waves she meets an oyster and year after year they become friends.

One day a fisherman harvested the oyster and found Sandy, now a beautiful pearl. Sandy's travels lead her to a jeweler's shop where she is made into a gold pin. How she gets back home we leave as a mystery. Back home on the beach she finds true happiness with her friends and discovers that not only is she a beautiful pearl but that she possesses a new inner beauty.

There is an educational component of Level 1: Reading Sight Words color-coded throughout the story and Beach Words placed on the pictures. There is a self-expression page at the end of the book entitled "My Beach Story."

About the Author

Frank authored one of Trafford’s 2005 summer Children’s Best Sellers The Treasure of Assateague Island. He has lived most of his life on the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. He is a professional biologist and is retired from the United States Department of Agriculture where he has spoken and published at many zoological societies. Frank has participated in Chesapeake Bay oyster research and is a life long naturalist.

Therese, Frank’s wife and educational consultant, designed an award winning education program for students with different learning styles. The Stringfellow’s have two married children, Mary and John and three grandchildren. They live in Greenbelt, Maryland.