The Sand Sifter

Lynn Manuel, a writer of mystery novels for young adults, is the author
of Return to Cranberry Farm.

Jessica announces to her brother Andrew, “I’ve seen the man who
makes the sand.” Of course Andrew doesn’t believe her, until he goes
to the tumble-down home carved out of the dunes and sees the old man for
himself. Soon Jessica’s secret of the Sand Sifter is a secret no more;
children come from all around to hear him tell his stories while he
sifts the sand. And he never runs out of tales, because he says
there’s a story for every grain of sand: “grains of sand are like
the thoughts and dreams of all the people on earth. You could never,
ever know them all!” But then one day the Sand Sifter prepares to
leave, his pails and sieves hanging from a knapsack on his back. The
sands are shifting, and it’s time for him to move on. But he tells
Jessica that he is the maker of dreams, and that one day he will be
back.

Lawson weaves together West Coast Indian legends and Pacific Rim
folklore into a story that is a delight to read. There is a bittersweet
sadness to the message that life is as shifting as the sands themselves.
Mah’s beautifully integrated illustrations add to the floating,
dreamlike quality of the words. A thoroughly charming book that young
children will want to read (or have read to them) over and over again.