• Age: 3 to 5
• Grade: p to k

To the sea, to the sea,

who or what waits here for me?

Pairing two dozen of Carol Evans’s wonderful watercolours with a lilting rhyming story by Caroline Woodward, A West Coast Summer tells of a timeless, idyllic season where “Sea salt in the air floats everywhere / and cedars smell so sweet beside the shore.” Children race bikes along sand flats, search under logs and in tide pools for tiny creatures, jig at the dock for herring, dance at a totem raising ceremony, pick berries, make memories and leave footprints in the sand.

Evans’s illustrations capture the jubilation of children exploring the seashore, inspiring young readers to take their own journey to the sea to discover who or what waits for them in the Pacific Northwest—and learn that the best memories are those shared with family and friends.

Readers of all ages will enjoy this charming collaboration, sure to become a West Coast children’s classic.

Carol Evans’s work has achieved international acclaim as part of many group exhibitions and private collections worldwide. Her art has been published in West Coast: Homeland of Mist (SummerWild Productions, 1992), Releasing the Light (Raincoast Books, 1997), and the bestselling The Shores We Call Home (Harbour Publishing, 2010). She lives on Saltspring Island, BC, with husband Bryn King.

Carol Evans' profile page

Caroline Woodward lives, works and writes on the Lennard Island Lightstation near Tofino, British Columbia. Prior to her career as a lighthouse keeper she worked in almost every aspect of the literary world from book-reviewer to book-seller and most points on either side and in between. She was raised on a homestead in the north Peace River region of B.C. and has studied, worked and travelled widely ever since. She is the author of five books including Disturbing the Peace (Polestar, 1990), nominated for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and Alaska Highway Two-Step (Polestar, 1993), nominated for the Arthur Ellis Best First Mystery Award.

Caroline Woodward's profile page

“Caroline Woodward pens a poetic ode to the sights and wonders of the Pacific Northwest in A West Coast Summer, which Carol Evans gorgeously complements with photorealistic paintings.”

Quill & Quire

“Readers of all ages will delight in this celebration of all that makes the West Coast unique. A beautiful keepsake for any library, A West Coast Summer would be as much at home on the coffee table as on the nursery bookshelf.”

Devon Arthur, Quill & Quire

A West Coast Summer is simply magical! You’ll find yourself transported into the wonder of a perfect day by the ocean. A must-have for anyone who loves to play!

Robert Budd, co-author of the Northwest Coast Legends and First West Coast Books series

“Most readers will feel the need to look closer to convince themselves that Carol Evans's art is not photographic or at least not produced with a camera. It is not, but it is certainly true to life while evocative of time and place and feeling... Caroline Woodward, author children's book including Singing Away the Dark (illustrated by Julie Morstad, Simply Read Books, 2011), knows how to put power in words. She hears what children are feeling and thinking and takes the reader with them to the places they visit...For those who live on or visit the west coast, A West Coast Summer will be familiar and comfortable. It will be home. For those who have never been, the book will be an invitation.” ~ CanLit for Little Canadians

Can Lit

Hakai Magazine

I have long admired Carol Evans’s art. What a treat to see her paintings in her first book for children. The light, the ripples of water, the joy! Evans’s paintings vibrate with the magic of rocks and tide pools as seen from a child’s point of view. Accompanied by Caroline Woodward’s lyrical text, this book feels like author and illustrator take the reader by the hand for a wondrous walk in the sunshine. A must-read, not just for West Coasters but for all who want to experience the beauty of wild Pacific shores.

Margriet Ruurs, author of Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey