Little Ruby's mom "read her stories of the ocean's glories." Daddy told her about shells and sandcastles. Ruby wanted to see the beach. When she was three, her parents drove her there. Ruby experienced the salty air, sand, and seabirds. Daddy watched as sand first touched her toes. They ran to the sea. When Ruby reached the shore, "a small wave met her toes." She froze. When it crept away, she thought "it wanted to play." She and Daddy splashed and played. Afterward, they joined Mom on the sand. She was molding a fort or castle. All three worked on it and created a tall tower. Then Mom and Ruby walked by the sea and found treasures. Before they left, Ruby wrote her name in the sand and drew a large heart. On the drive home, Ruby "dreamed of the day she could come back to stay." Decades later, we see Ruby standing outside her beach home. She loves to tell "her stories of the ocean's glories!" You'll be entranced by descriptions and artwork gracing this book. Hope Taylor Spencer is the proud daughter of a military family. She has lived in 11 states and Puerto Rico! As she moved around, Hope learned that she could find great friends in books. She spent many happy days reading about the world and dreamed of someday writing her own book for children.As an elementary teacher, Hope shared her love of books with her students. Her happiest moments in the classroom were the ones spent reading aloud, especially when she read the stories she loved as a child. Her greatest joy was to see one of her students reading and rereading a book independently. As joyful and satisfying as teaching was for Hope, she longed to write a story of her own. A book that children would want to explore over and over. Another constant in Hope's life was the beach. She visited beaches on the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan and on the coasts of California, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. But her favorite beaches were the ones her grandparents took her to visit every summer in North Carolina. Hope was fascinated by the water, the sand, the seashells, the culture, and the sea life. She knew she would write a story about the beach one day.Today Hope lives in a small town near the coast of North Carolina just like the one her grandparents lived in so many years ago. She lives with her husband, Brent, and their two small dogs, Joey and Sandy. Hope loves reading, gardening, spending time with family, and, of course, visiting the beach.