WONDER SHELL

A mysterious sage empowers a young boy to spread kindness throughout his village in Harbour’s middle-grade chapter book.

In the coastal Welsh village of Aberdoethus lives a young boy named Corazinda, whose summers are marked by the influx of seasonal tourists traveling to his hometown and staying in his family’s bed and breakfast. Corazinda has a loving relationship with his parents, but one morning, his father isn’t as kind to him as he usually is. Upset, Corazinda wanders off to his favorite spot—under an apple tree with a view of the ocean—and tries to understand his parents’ occasional anger and sadness. There, Corazinda is approached by a mysterious sage named Ddraigddyn. After Corazinda confides in them about the morning’s strife, Ddraigddyn gives him a magic seashell, instructing him to put it under his pillow and to find them the next morning to discuss the dreams that the shell brings. The next day, Corazinda recounts his dream, in which his friends and neighbors are tethered to crates filled with rocks. Ddraigddyn explains that each rock symbolizes the burdens that people carry. They teach Corazinda how to see these “rocks” when he’s awake and also that kindness can lighten someone’s load. This is an imaginative and whimsical story that promotes kindness and helps to explain the concept of empathy to young readers. Harbour’s writing is descriptive and detailed, although perhaps redundant in some areas (“Focused on the mysterious sound, he didn’t notice the approach of a wise old sage, a figure whose presence seemed to radiate ancient wisdom and serenity. ‘You appear lost in contemplation, dear child,’ the wise sage spoke...In front of Corazinda stood a sage”). The use of gender-neutral pronouns for Ddraigddyn is a nice touch, but is muddled when Corazinda describes them to his father as “a woman wizard.” These issues, however, do not diminish the story’s positive message. The text is enhanced by Malygina’s beautiful watercolor illustrations.

A warm and fantastical tale about empathy and kindness.