The Pelican and the Crab

On a sunny beach where waves go swish-swash, Percy the pelican spends his mornings flying high above the sparkling sea. His best friend, Clement, is a careful crab with a coral-red shell and a tiny seaweed bow on one claw. Though one flies high and the other stays low, they make a perfect team and know every shell and stone along the shore.

One morning, a little sandpiper named Pip runs up in distress: a shiny blue button has vanished from beside the nest. Percy and Clement set out to solve the mystery together. From the sky, Percy spots a trail of tiny dots leading toward the dunes, while Clement follows it on the ground, finding a scrap of blue thread on the driftwood and a second, smaller button among the rocks. Piece by piece they lay out their clues and work out where the trail leads, until a small voice behind a rock reveals who has been collecting shiny things and why. This gentle seaside mystery by Jane MEADOW can be read on Kids Tale Book.