Super Seashells

I was never a big collector as a kid. There were no books of stamps, or piles of stickers, or souvenir spoons from around the world in my room. The only thing I ever liked collecting were shells. I am not alone in this. People have been collecting shells throughout history to use as currency, as tools, and just because they like the look of them. I have a couple of small boxes of shells and beach stones that I keep in a closet in my daughter’s room. I don’t do anything with them except look at them and pick them up and enjoy the feel of them in my hand. Every summer I arrange some of them along with a magnifying glass, a few beach photos, and some books about shells and beaches on a dresser in her room as a very improvised Waldorf-inspired nature table. I never get tired of looking at them and admiring them. What is it about seashells that fascinates so many of us?

I recently read a fascinating book by Helen Scales called Spirals in Time, The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells. It is not a children’s book, but it is so engaging and well written that it is worth mentioning. Who lives in these shells, and what do they do? What are their stories? She begins in the prologue with the myth of the Greek demigod Triton, a merman who lived by the adage:

Never go anywhere without your seashell.

Now there’s some advice you don’t hear today. He always carried his Giant Triton shell (which is named after him) and used it as a trumpet, something people still do today. Although they don’t use them to scare away mythical giants like Triton did. When you see these beautiful specimens, you understand why they might want to.

The author then describes her own fascination with seashells that began with childhood trips to Cornwall, where she built sandcastles decorated with seashells, explored tidepools, and even learned to scuba-dive, igniting a passion for ocean wildlife, and seashells in particular, that led to her become a marine biologist. Her enthusiasm for her subject and scientific expertise combine to tell a captivating story about a group sea animals called the mollusks.

The reader learns how shells are formed and what their elaborate patterns mean, and how they are related to their ancient ancestors. Spirals in Time is the perfect title for a book that explores some of the oldest creatures on earth. It is mind-boggling to think about how long mollusks in some form have lived on this earth. Half a billion years later and we still know so little about them, and there are so many species yet to be discovered.

In the book we meet scientists studying sea butterflies, a pteropod that “look like little snitches” out of a Harry Potter book, and a 19th century scientist name Jeanne Power who invented the world’s first aquarium so she could study argonauts. We meet an amateur collector named Hugh Cumming who sailed the world during Charles Darwin’s time (and lent him some species of barnacle) and who collected over 83,000 shells that are now on display at the British Museum.

In one of the more unusual chapters, the author visits a tiny island off the coat of Sardinia, where artisans spin thread from the byssus fibers of the Noble Pen Shell into sea-silk. It sounds fantastical:

The directions to Sant’ Antioco read like something from a fairy story: drive down the road lined with prickly pear trees, go past the flock of pink flamingos and carry on over the bridge leading to the little island. There you will find the only people in the world who still pluck tufts of hair from giant seashells and weave them into fine golden cloth.

Who knew that a place like this existed? A charming snippet to share with the children in your life.

A more terrifying tidbit involves the story of cone snails. These mollusks:

spit their teeth at their prey. Their highly adapted fangs are hollowed-out harpoons, which they load with a complex cocktail of deadly toxins to instantly paralyse unsuspecting worms and fish. These shells can be so toxic that they occasionally kill a full-grown human.

Yikes. These harmless looking shells have conotoxins that are so complex, scientists are studying them for neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Just don’t touch them yourself. I am glad the New England coast where I live is not home to these fearsome mollusks. Here is what they look like:

They don’t look scary. But I will never forget about them or the many fascinating facts and stories about seashells I learned from Spirals in Time. There a few color photos included in the book, but I found myself looking various creatures up online because they sounded so intriguing. She also has advice for shell collectors at the end, and a glossary of shells. If you are interested in an accessible and beautifully written science book about seashells and their place in the world, I highly recommend it.

For younger readers, Seashells More Than a Home, by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Sarah Brannen is a good place to explore the world of seashells and all they can do. She begins,

Every day, seashells wash up on beaches all over Earth, like treasures from a secret world beneath the waves.

They really are treasures, and many children are naturally drawn to shells on the beach to keep as treasures. What better way to entice young beachcombers to take a closer look. She introduces thirteen types of mollusks and describes each one with both scientific information and child friendly similes. So readers learn how the nautilus moves through the ocean because its “shell is filled with a lightweight gas” and that

Seashells can rise and sink like a submarine…

The perfect mix of information and imagination. The watercolor illustrations show children studying and exploring various shells throughout the book, in addition to pictures of the different shells and their habitats. The reader learns how mollusks use shells as protection and camouflage, how to move and how they “belch out waste like a ship’s smokestack.” An informative introduction to the the fascinating world of seashells. There is both an author’s and illustrator’s note at the end that highlight how much research went into this book and it shows. Even the endpapers show where in the world these mollusks live.

So pull out that box of seashells, or better yet go to your favorite beach and find some new ones to admire and respect with your new understanding of these intriguing sea treasures. Just don’t touch the cone shells.