Castle Crashing
By (Author) Andrea Rowe
Illustrated by Hannah Sommerville
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
28th October 2025
Australia
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage emotions: Anger, frustration
Childrens / Teenage emotions: Compassion, empathy, kindness
Hardback
32
Width 225mm, Height 275mm
Bonnie knows how to build sandcastles best, but her friends insist on building their own castles every way but Bonnie's way. They sift and sculpt and burrow in the soft, white sand, happily playing by their own rules. No-one listens to Bonnie. Soon, her anger boils over and she storms off across the dunes.
Bonnie's friends are patient and understanding; they will wait for her to navigate her feelings. But can Bonnie show herself the same kindness
In Castle Crashing, award-winning duo Andrea Rowe and Hannah Sommerville return to the sun-kissed world of Jetty Jumping and Sunday Skating with a new story celebrating friendship and self-discovery.
Castle Crashing is perfect for:
Andrea Rowe is a bestselling, award-winning picture book author, freelance writer and late-night book reader.She loves to write nostalgic stories that inspire conversations among children, families and educators. Her characters explore the great outdoors, ponder big questions and move through tricky feelings.
Andrea's debut picture book,Jetty Jumping (illustrated by Hannah Sommerville), won the 2022 CBCA Book of the YearAward Early Childhood, and In the Rockpool and Amid the Sand Dunes (both illustrated by Hannah Sommerville) were Notables in the same category in 2024 and 2025.
Andrea believes in the power of stories, of reading out loud and in secret spots surrounded by stacks of books. She lives in Bunurong Country, in the sand dunes of the Mornington Peninsula, where her writing days are fuelled by a secret stash of Cherry Ripes.
Hannah Sommerville is a bestselling picture book illustrator who creates enchanting watercolour, gouache and digital illustrations in her studio on the South Coast of New South Wales. Hannah earned a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Arts and Graphic Design) at the University of Wollongong in 2006, and began illustrating in 2010 after the arrival of her young children.
Hannah is a storyteller who enjoys creating picture books that capture the imagination, tenderness and playfulness that surround children and family life.Her picture book Jetty Jumping, written by Andrea Rowe, won the 2022 CBCA Book of the YearAward Early Childhood, and In the Rockpool and Amid the Sand Dunes (both written by Andrea Rowe) were Notables in the same category in 2024 and 2025.