Sandcastles Great Projects: From Mermaids to Monuments

Sandcastles is the ultimate guide to the ultimate summer pastime--playing in the sand. Featuring the wonderful photographs of Frankie Frankeny (Snowmen), Sandcastles includes over 30 sand sculptures from the whimsical to the majestic, complete with easy-to-follow instructions. Adults and kids can work together to create gloriously impermanent structures by the sea--or even in a backyard sandbox. Pass the time with an ancient sundial. Sail alongside the seas in a sand schooner. Sunbathe with a mermaid. Put up a beach house for your lazy pup. Or for the truly ambitious, recreate some northern Spanish architecture with a rendition of the Gehry Bilbao Guggenheim. For sand sculptors young and old, this delightful volume is filled with the joys found in a summer day in the sand. Sandcastles is a joint project with the non-profit Leap Foundation, which hosts a sandcastle extravaganza each summer, where artists, architects, and kids of all ages construct inspiring sand creations.

Patti Mitchell is an architect living in Northern California. She has been involved with Leap for the past four years.

Frankie Frankeny is a San Francisco-based photographer whose work has illustrated many books, including Wookiee Cookies (0-8118-2184-6) and The Christmas Cookie Book (0-8118-3095-0).

The Living Earth Foundation is an organization committed to conservation and environmental education as the main focus of its work. The Foundation's projects enable local communities in developing countries to understand and value the rainforests and to ma