One White Wishing Stone: A Beach Day Counting Book

National Geographic Books present a delightful new title that is sure to become a children's summer classic.

Writer Doris Gayzagian and illustrator Kristina Swarner have collaborated to produce a magical, poetic counting book. A mother and child's day at the beach is brought to life in 32 beautifully illustrated pages of simple verse, capturing every child's delight in the natural joys of the seashore.

The young girl and her mother make their first footprints in the sand early on a summer morning. The child's mind is soon swept up in exploration and discovery as she eagerly counts all the newfound natural wonders of the seashore.

Each fresh page shines brightly with the magic sparkle of a child's summertime: from arriving and setting up a sun umbrella…to splashing around in a tide pool…to lovingly building a sandcastle decorated with seashells and feathers…to the return home and tucking into bed. In the evocative ebb and flow of words and pictures, the learning of names and the counting of beach creatures and the ocean's flotsam becomes a shared journey of discovery and joy for parents and young children.

Kristina Swarner's illustrations will transport young imaginations to the wonderland of sea, sand, and sun. Once there, young readers and listeners will learn to name this world through the comforting repetition and engaging simplicity of Doris Gayzagian's rhymes. This is the perfect summer book for children, and parents, who relish the delight of discovery and the endless fascination of long, hot days at the shore.