Surf War!: A Folktale from the Marshall Islands

The outcome of this timeless nature tale from Micronesia suggests that all of us are connected in the ecological chain. Sandpiper finds her daily stroll on the beach interrupted by Whale, who boasts that he is ruler of the sea. Sandpiper responds with equal bravado, asserting her rights to the sand and seawater. The rivals are call in their cousins and soon both the beach and sea are filled with shorebirds and sea mammals of every stripe. The standoff grows ominous as Whale leads his cousins in an assault on the beach, eating the sand from under the birds. Sandpiper retaliates by ordering her cousins to drink up the ocean. Then the landscape is filled with fish, crabs, and sea creatures gasping for survival. How will this end? MacDonald’s trademark playful prose captures the misguided rivalry of the characters while Valério’s frame expands to portray the conflict on the ever-crowded beach.