The Shiny Shell

By David Hubbard

Starting from the perspective of L. Frank Baum and Rev. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) The Shiny Shell takes our young adventurer Orion, on a journey “down the rabbit hole.” As his story unfolds your child is encouraged to learn. Knowledge is held up to be more important than the acquisition of wealth. The dire consequences of pollution and global warming are exposed and the perspective of non-human species are explored. Through all of this the values of friendship and family are uplifted. In every good adventure there are antagonists and conflict, but as in any reasonable fable, good triumphs over evil in the end.
Bring your child along on this fast paced adventure and you will be as involved in the story as they are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Hubbard
• Release date: Jun 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458195258

David Hubbard

David Hubbard is an environmental activist living green in Silver Spring, MD. Accomplishments include songwriting, poetry, and fine art sculpture and paintings. David Hubbard has written over thirty original songs for the band Sky High Radio.

Book preview

The Shiny Shell

A boy and a dolphin on a mission to save the oceans.

Written by David Hubbard

Illustrated by Marcie Wolf-Hubbard

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 David Hubbard

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

In the tradition of L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of OZ) and Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) The Shiny Shell takes our young adventurer Orion, on a journey down the rabbit hole.  As his story unfolds your child is encouraged to learn.  Knowledge is held up to be more important than the acquisition of wealth.  The dire consequences of pollution and global warming are exposed and the perspective of non-human species are explored.  There are riddles, songs and even a fable along the way. Through all of this the values of friendship and family are uplifted.

Orion finds a shining shell on the beach of an alien world. He keeps it because it reminds him of the diamond in his mother’s ring. He has been brought to this earth like world by Sleek the dolphin who is attending a gathering of ocean creatures from across our galaxy. The antagonist in The Shiny Shell is a Snark names Snaggle who likes to pester and sometimes eat the sea creatures attending the gathering. He tricks Orion into leaving his friends and then abducts him. Orion is rescued and returned home by Sleek and Humphrey the humpback whale. They were able to track him through space by following the light from the bright shell.

Bring your child along on this fast paced adventure and you will be as involved in the story as they are.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: A New Friend

Chapter Two: Space

Chapter Three: Aquaterra

Chapter Four: The Gathering

Chapter Five: The Shiny Shell

Chapter Six: Guile

Chapter Seven: Earth or Bust

Chapter One: A New Friend

Beneath a towering old maple tree, behind a white wooden house, Orion played in the family pool.  His mother sat a few feet away stroking a tortoise shell cat in the hot afternoon sun.  The cat’s name was Alice and she licked her multicolored fur and looked at him.

Orion liked to do new things.  He had seen photographs of his parents snorkeling on their vacation and he wanted to try.  So he used a clear plastic, oblong container for a mask.  He cut a groove in the edge for his nose and fastened it over his eyes with a rubber band.  He found a piece of garden hose to use as a snorkel so he could breath under water.  He put the pair of flippers his parents had given him on his feet and set out around the pool.

As Orion swam he got an uneasy feeling in his stomach.  A tremor shook the water and a dark cloud passed in front of the sun.  Waves crested and fell all around.  His pool started to expand and pretty