Lua and the Shark Who Talked in Bubbles
Writing | Illustration | Self-publishing
Lua lives on the island of Sal, where her grandmother is teaching her to sing — not just any songs, but morna, the old music of Cape Verde that carries the island’s joys and sorrows.
Meanwhile, the tide leaves more and more plastic on the beach. In the clear shallows of Shark Bay, where the baby lemon sharks grow up, one of them — a young shark named Tico — rises to meet Lua and tell her what is happening to the underwater nursery. The girl decides to help her new friend. But the adults are busy with preparations for the Festival.
What can a young girl do to help little sharks?
About the book
The story is set on the island of Sal, in Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa. Sal’s bays are natural nursery grounds for lemon sharks, which spend their early years in shallow, sheltered water before moving out to sea. The same shallows collect plastic waste, carried in by the strong winds and the tide. In the story, a girl named Lua notices the problem and decides to act. With her creativity, bravery — and some help from her family and friends — she brings the whole community together to organise a big beach cleanup.
Cape Verdean words appear throughout, with a short language and culture guide, and the book closes with over 45 pages of creative activities: drawing, writing, and ocean-themed workbook pages.
Children’s book: 6–8 years old | 94 pages | Paperback ISBN: 978-83-979463-3-0 | Hardcover ISBN: 978-83-979463-4-7
Adventures on Sal Island
Adventures on Sal Island is a series of three children’s books set on Sal Island, Cape Verde.
Lua and the Shark Who Talked in Bubbles is the first book from this series. The other two are: Patrick’s Great Ocean Journey and Martina and the Cats of Santa Maria.
I started writing the stories while working in a small tattoo studio in Santa Maria, on Sal. In each book, I placed some life lessons connected to one or more of my Cape Verdean friends — Patrick, Martina and Helena. These people and their values were my main inspiration. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Europe before finishing the books. But I completed and self-published all three stories later, as a gift for the friends I left on the island.
Creating these stories gave me a lot of joy. I may write one or two more when time allows.