Hamlet and the Magnificent Sandcastle Author:Brian Lies Hamlet, an irrepressibly enthusiastic pig, goes to the beach on a blustery spring day with his worry-wart pal, Quince the porcupine. He proceeds to build the world's biggest sandcastle--one that achieves comically stupendous proportions, and is complete with banqueting halls, dungeons, and elaborate tapestries woven from seaweed. In the meantime... more », Quince, who is supposed to be watching out for such far-fetched dangers as tidal waves, sharks, and splintery pieces of driftwood, falls asleep and fails to notice the incoming tide that traps them both in the rapidly crumbling castle. Even though Quince's quick thinking and creative problem-solving save the day, he blames himself for the near-disaster. So, on the train ride home, Hamlet consoles him with a comforting cup of hot chocolate and encouraging words. Hamlet and Quince are classic "adventure buddies"--personality opposites who nevertheless get along with each other and make up for each other's deficiencies. In the face of grave danger, they avoid laying blame, and cooperate to find a solution to their joint problem. They are models of a good friendship that thrives on differences and capitalizes on individual strengths. The adventure is both exciting and comic. Boys in particular will love Hamlet's rambunctious, playful approach to life and will find Quince's constant worrying familiarly amusing and, ultimately, ironically justified. Lies casts his characters with broad strokes appropriate to his young audience's moral development and conveys his theme of friendship within the context of a rollicking, hilarious tale.« less