AN UNUSUAL FRIEND

Siblings vacationing in the tropics rescue a wounded shark, who returns the favor, in this children’s book.

Sabrina and Stephen, sister and brother, have left the United States to accompany their marine scientist parents to a South Pacific island. Exploring the beach during a gorgeous pink sunrise, they discover an injured baby shark trapped in a tide pool and patch up the cut on his fin. The waterproof bandage will hold in the pool, but swimming in the ocean isn’t safe yet. For two months, Sabrina and Stephen feed the baby shark with fish and crabs until he grows too big for the pool and they return him to the open sea. At first, the shark stays near the beach, having grown to trust his human friends, but then eventually swims farther away. Later that summer, a tourist boat founders on a coral reef, its passengers clinging to the overturned hull. The siblings take their motorboat to help—but the splashing passengers attract sharks. Then, a great white shark appears and chases the others off. As the scar on his fin testifies, it’s the shark whom the kids saved. They lasso their helpful aquatic friend, who tows the tourists to land. In his latest children’s book, Pellico effectively updates the classic fable “Androcles and the Lion.” A shark’s gratitude is about as unlikely as a lion’s, but it’s a sweet story that teaches readers about caring for animals. It takes real work for Sabrina and Stephen to gather food and tend to the shark week after week, but they do it gladly. The tale finishes nicely with its dramatic rescue. Illustrating her third book with the author, Berry provides digital pictures that vividly convey the island’s natural beauty.

A gentle, enjoyable tale of interspecies trust and kindness, with some excitement to boot.