At the Bach Book

An evocative bedtime picture book that distils the essence of a family summer at the bach.

Summer holidays by the sea have a rhythm all their own. With a few resonant images Cowley takes us straight to the end of a long hot day with beach treasures under the pillow and the salty smell of the sea. The cadence of the final words echoes the shushing waves in a gentle signal of time for readers to sleep—“good day, good sea, good sand, good night”.

This simple poem by internationally renowned Joy Cowley transports the reader to a childhood summer with language that asks to be read over and over. Hilary Jean Tapper’s warm watercolour and ink illustrations add an inclusive cast of extended family, friends and children of different ages.