What a shell can tell

Every shell contains a sea of secrets: put a shell to your ear and it will tell you its story. Picking them up is one of the most popular pastimes, especially for children, so why not explore the world hidden behind those grooves they caress with their fingers? Starting with the beautiful, vivid, detailed and colourful illustrations by Sonia Pulido, the renowned marine biologist Helen Scales takes children inside the realm of shells, inviting them to develop the art of observation and to appreciate the relationship between nature and ecosystem. Shapes, colours and textures disclose a lot of information about their tenants and their origins (from the fathomless depths to the highest trees). The book is structured in such a way that each double page answers a question through illustration and short scientific explanations narrating the life of molluscs living inside shells, their survival strategies, the story of their transformation. And it further includes several anecdotes, such as molluscs that can glow in the dark and others that collect shells, too. Yet, they all have one thing in common: they don't see, but feel the patterns on their “homes”: they wrap the whole shell in their spongy coat and “draw” on them as they get bigger. Who knows, they might not want to forget things, or are they maybe trying to tell us something?

La vita segreta delle conchiglie (What a shell can tell)
by Helen Scales, Sonia Pulido