The first thing that drew me into reading this picture book was the brightly colored illustrations of the dolphin and the oyster on the front of the book. They’re skillfully drawn and very detailed, setting the mood of this lighthearted tale in the pages that follow. The writing style is very well paced, using simple language that is easy to understand for the reader. As for the illustrations, they remain very simple with an all-white background with intricately drawn sea creatures with very colorful shells, fins, and gills. The story follows the life of an oyster, who struggles with accepting himself in order to become a more confident individual. He is confronted with several other characters that either criticize him, ignore him, or seek friendship despite his differences. On one page, a crab says to the oyster, “Look at you in that plain little shell, you’re not good for anything as far as I can see”, discouraging him to open himself up to the people around him. I really like this line since it pushes readers to think about how negative comments can hurt others and make them less open to the world around them. It also takes on the perspective of someone who may be introverted, something that may be difficult to understand if the reader is outgoing. On another page, a school of fish swim by making the oyster yearn for that same friendship yet he knew he was different and it wouldn’t work. I really enjoyed this part of the story since the oyster recognizes his differences and seeks to find himself, something the reader can apply to their own life if they struggle to find their own sense of identity. Going along with this idea, the following page a shark appears in an attempt to befriend the oyster. Even though the oyster yearns for friendship, he declines due to their differences and wants to find friendship with people similar to himself. The page before the turning point in the story, the background color of the illustration of the oyster turned to black in order to portray his mood of being lost and alone. The language on this page matches this idea, as the oyster says “What can I do?.. I’ll just stay in my shell, alone, and out of the way”. This internal conflict that the oyster is going through is extremely relatable as many people have felt this way at some point in their life. The turning point occurs when the oyster meets a dolphin, who convinces the oyster that everyone is special in their own unique way. Moved by this statement, he opens his shell to the dolphin, revealing a beautiful pearl. This changes the oyster’s initial views about himself, convincing him that he is in fact special and that no one should persuade him otherwise. As the reader, I interpreted the oyster’s shell as what people see on the outside and the pearl as what makes someone unique from anyone else. This really broadens a reader’s perspective on finding what’s unique about themselves and accepting it so that they can appreciate their differences as what makes them special.
The main message the story wants the reader to take away is that everyone has something that makes them unique and that changing themselves to fit in means that they won’t remain true to themselves. This is an important takeaway for readers since it encourages them to be themselves and not adhere to norms. I think this lesson is taught very effectively in The Oyster’s Secret, making it a lighthearted and great read for anyone. ( )