The Silver Shadow

by Mariesa Dulak, Alea Marley (Illustrator)

Overview

A spellbinding story about a little girl, the sea, and a seemingly fierce creature in need of her help.

My toes hunt for grooves in the rough rock. And then . . . I see her.

While searching for wonders in the tide pools, a little girl discovers a silver shark, stranded in the shallows—sleek and quick, but still just a baby. The sun is high and the tide is out. How will the shark find its way home? Drawing on family memories of life in Barbados, award-winning author Mariesa Dulak and best-selling artist Alea Marley have woven together a spellbindingly beautiful story about our connections to the ocean and what we owe other living creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536239409
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Mariesa Dulak is an author and part-time school librarian based in London. She previously worked for more than twenty years in marketing for publishers including Hachette and Penguin. She won the FAB Prize for her debut picture-book text, There's a Tiger on the Train, which was illustrated by award-winning artist Rebecca Cobb. Being of dual heritage (British and Barbadian), she is passionate about diversity in children’s books and thinks it’s crucial that children see themselves represented in stories.

Alea Marley was born in the UK with Barbadian roots. Her other books include award-winning poet Dean Atta’s picture-book debut, Confetti; Is This Love?, a picture book adapted from the Bob Marley song by his daughter Cedella Marley; and Phoebe Dupree Is Coming to Tea! by Linda Ashman. She is also the illustrator of Christine Platt’s Frankie and Friends series.

Editorial Reviews

Dulak takes a skillfully light touch to fostering environmental stewardship in young kids while showcasing the beauty of the Caribbean setting. . . A magnificently told tale of compassion for the natural world.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-04-19
A story of love from the water’s edge.

A shy brown-skinned girl catches a lionfish in her small bucket before releasing it. The next day, she discovers a baby shark stranded in the tidepools. She worries for the shark’s safety—the heat is oppressive, and her brother Sam and his friends want to sell the creature to fishermen. Though the child tells the little shark to be still, the other kids spot the animal and plot to catch her. Summoning strength “from a deep place. An ancient place,” the protagonist clenches her fists and shouts, “NO!” Surprised, the others back off. The relieved narrator watches over the shark until dusk, when her parents and, eventually, Sam come help look after the animal until high tide comes and washes her back out. Marley’s luminescent illustrations bathe the pages in cerulean, cobalt, azure, sapphire, and teal as well as emerald, olive, chartreuse, and, of course, sea green, immersing readers in the watery setting and beckoning them to care. Where rusts and browns meet blues and greens, the shark and the girl wait…until purples, pinks, and deep indigoes envelop them both. Dulak takes a skillfully light touch to fostering environmental stewardship in young kids while showcasing the beauty of the Caribbean setting; in an author’s note, she explains that she drew inspiration from her dad’s memories of growing up in Barbados.

A magnificently told tale of compassion for the natural world. (what to do if you catch something in a tidepool)(Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews