Kids into books: Call of the Selkie

Author: Jean Bennett

Illustrator: Shawn Shea

Publisher: Shortland Publications, $10.95

Age group: 9 - 13 years


Ryan glanced back to make sure Cilla wasn't following him, then he leapt off the rocks onto a small half-circle of sand wedged between the headland and a cliff face. It looked as though he could go no further.

He turned to a large boulder jutting out from the sheer cliff, which seemed welded into the cliff face itself. he scaled the rock and slid over the top. A gap between the side of the boulder and the cliff led to a narrow tunnel.

Dropping to his knees, Ryan wriggled through the opening. It took several seconds for his eyes to become accustomed to the dark cavern, then he moved ahead. Around a bend in the tunnel, a glimmer of light lit up his path.

As he scrambled towards the exit, he thought of the day in early summer when he had fled to the sanctuary of the bay. Sheltered from the fierce coastal winds, the bay was a haven from the many storms at home.

Ryan didn't know exactly what had made his parents start quarrelling, but the angry words and slammed doors made him feel sick to his stomach.