Southern California: Surfing Knights and Sand Castle Princesses

Cowabunga, Reading Road Trippers! Greetings from sunny Southern California! We’re cruising down Silver Strand Boulevard toward Imperial Beach, a way-cool destination fourteen miles south of San Diego and five miles northwest of Tijuana, Mexico.  It's the southern-most beach spot on the west coast of the United States.

While we’re in town, let’s check out the 2011 Imperial Beach US Sandcastle Competition. The annual event features dozens of professional and amateur sand sculpture teams competing for bragging rights and awesome amounts of prize money.  Groovy music, rad street vendors, epic food, and totally tubular sand castles: we can dig it!

We can dig it online, too: let’s build a virtual sand castle.  Click on the red-highlighted words to get started.  Next, we’ll chill on the Southern California beach with a bucket full of books about castles-without-the-sand:

A non-fiction selection from the Fast Forward series, Castles through Time by Nicholas Harris (RL 5.9) tells the history of a European castle, featuring illustrations and descriptions of the same location as it may have appeared from 600 B.C. to the early twenty-first century.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech (RL 5.5) shares the story of two orphaned peasant children who discover a mysterious pouch.  The cryptic contents lead them to the majestic Castle Corona… where their lives may be transformed forever.

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine (RL 4.9) follows twelve-year-old Elodie on a fantastic journey to Two Castles, where she becomes apprentice to a dragon.  The aspiring actress learns to be observant and to think logically… skills that will help her solve the mystery of who is poisoning the king.

In long-time Lafayette fantasy favorite The Castle in the Attic by  Elizabeth Winthrop (RL 5.0), a gift of a toy castle, complete with a silver knight, introduces William to adventure involving magic and a personal quest.

Surf's up!  Let's catch a wave of books about knights in shining armor:

Excalibur: The Legend of King Arthur: A Graphic Novel by Tony Lee (RL 3.9). Retells, in graphic novel format, the legend of Arthur Pendragon who draws a legendary sword from a stone and begins the life he was born to lead, guided by the elusive wizard Merlin.

Sir Lancelot, Where Are You? from the Dragon Slayers’ Academy series by Kate McMullan (RL 3.1). After the witch Morgana le Fay puts a curse on Sir Lancelot, three knights-in-training from the Dragon Slayers' Academy set out to save him.

Life as a Knight: An Interactive History Adventure by Rachael Hanel (RL 6.4). Describes the lives of knights in medieval Europe through three stories: a French knight during the Crusades, an English knight during the Hundred Years' War, and a German knight during the Peasants' War.  The reader chooses the plot lines!

Before the tide washes away all those beautiful sand castles, let’s imagine who lives inside. Kings and queens, lords and ladies, dragons and jesters, princes and princesses.  Hmm... sand castle princesses. Here's a video book review by Kara E.

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (RL 6.2).  While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

We can visit Shannon Hale’s official website and take a Beginner’s Princess Quiz and an Advanced Princess Quiz.  Or maybe we’re in the mood to watch a Shannon Hale book trailer:

Let’s wiggle our toes in the sand, soak up the Southern California sunshine, and savor more princess stories:

The Tales of the Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker (RL 5.4). After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward princess suddenly finds that she has turned into a frog and sets off with the prince to find a way to become human again.

The Wide Awake Princess, also by E.D. Baker (RL 6.6). Annie, younger sister of the princess known as Sleeping Beauty, stays awake when the rest of the castle falls into an enchanted sleep. She decides to find a way to break the spell.

The Princess Plot and The Princess Trap by Kirsten Boie (RL 5.2).  In The Princess Plot, fourteen-year-old Jenna becomes the unsuspecting pawn in a royal conspiracy after auditioning and winning the role of a movie princess.  In the sequel book, Jenna runs away from her elite boarding school, hoping to escape the pressures of being a princess.  When she is kidnapped by a villain who is trying to overthrow the royal family, she must put her fears aside and escape her captor before rebellion turns to war.

Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot (RL 5.7). In journal format, Mia Thermopolis chronicles her ups and downs as an average teenager—and as a princess of royal descent.  Check out a printable list of titles in the series!  

Princess Mix-Up Mystery: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew by Carolyn Keene (RL 3.8). Let’s learn how Nancy Drew, everyone's favorite super sleuth, got her start! Eight-year-old Nancy Drew and her friends win a day of royal treatments at Prissy's Princess Parlor.  When someone tries to sabotage their makeovers, the girls decide to track down the culprit.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine (RL 4.8). With her adventurous sister Meryl suffering from the Grey death, meek and timid Princess Addie sets out to find a cure.

Ella Enchanted, also by Gail Carson Levine (RL 4.2). In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

The Redheaded Princess: a Novel by Ann Rinaldi (RL 5.5). In 1542, nine-year-old Lady Elizabeth lives on an estate near London, striving to get back into the good graces of her father, King Henry VIII.  As the years pass in this historical fiction page-turner, Elizabeth faces the death of her father and of other close relatives until she finds herself in position to ascend to the throne of England in 1558.

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler (RL 5.4).  Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns that she is a princess.  When she discovers that her twelve long-lost sisters are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them. 
Let's watch a book trailer for The Thirteenth Princess, a story inspired by The Twelve Dancing Princesses, a German fairy tale published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812:

Back from the Beach?  Check out Spa Princess Cookbook by Barbara Beery (RL 5.2).  This yummy book contains recipes for edible treats like smoothies, cookies, and fondue.  It also offers soothing spa treatments-- including facials, scrubs, baths, and scented glitter gel—designed to create a relaxing and therapeutic home environment. 

Imperial Beach certainly lives up to its nickname, Classic Southern California. We’ve had a totally awesome time cruising the West Coast, constructing outrageous sand castles and compiling a list of primo book suggestions. Next up on Reading Road Trip: a return to the East Coast, with Endless Summer Reading down the Jersey Shore! Stay tuned….