1 Sand Crabs and Sea Glass

WIND RIDERS WHALE SONG OF PUFFIN CLIFF WRITTEN BY JEN MARLiN ILLUSTRATED BY MARTA KiSSi

Chapter 1 Sand Crabs and Sea Glass

Sofia swam through the surf, keeping her snorkel above the shallow waves. Reaching down to the seabed, she scooped up stones and shells with her bucket. Then she popped her head out of the water, searching for Max. Her sandy-haired friend was already on the beach, his snorkeling gear resting beside him. "Come see what I found!" Max called to her. Sofia raced out of the waves so fast, she nearly tripped over her flippers. Max held two clear, sparkling stones in front of his eyes. "One blue eye, one green," he said. "Aren't they beautiful?" He batted his eyelashes.

Sofia swatted his shoulder playfully. "That's sea glass! Hey, I wonder if I found any." She dumped out her bucket, searching for colorful bits of glass worn smooth by the churning sea.

"A sand dollar," said Max, pointing. "You're rich!" Sofia held up the round white object with the star etched across its top. "I'd take this over a real dollar any day," she said, imagining the tiny sea animal it had once been. She reached for a gray shell in the pile, then froze. The gray shell was moving. Max scooped it up. "A sand crab! Hey, little guy." The crab's legs tickled his palm. When he set it down, it wiggled its V-shaped antennae and burrowed into the sand. "Cute!" said Sofia, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "I've read about sand crabs." "Me too— Well, Grandpa taught me about them." Max lived in Starry Bay with Grandpa, a retired fisherman. He shaded his eyes and searched the marina for their fishing boat, which bobbed gently on the sparkling waves. He had spent almost as much time on that boat as on dry land, and Grandpa had taught him everything he knew about sea creatures. Sofia knew tons about all kinds of animals, though. Her mom was a vet, and she was visiting Starry Bay for the summer with her parents. Just then Max spotted a bit of orange plastic sticking out of Sofia's shell pile. He reached for the scrap of plastic and groaned. A blue cartoon fish grinned at him from the

Bay Fish Grill logo. "Trash," said Sofia, wrinkling her forehead. Max nodded. "Plastic from a fast-food restaurant. There's way too much of it in the ocean." Sofia jumped to her feet. "Let's recycle it!" She grabbed the plastic and waddled toward the nearest recycling bin, not even pausing to take off her flippers. When she got back, Max pointed out a frosted white triangle in her shell pile. "You did find some sea glass." "It looks like ice!" said Sofia. But as she held up the glass, a seagull swooped down and snatched it from her fingertips. "Hey!" she cried.