The Ocean’s Son

You wake up with a shudder and find yourself in the middle of an ocean. Can you even imagine this? Everything around you have become afloat and all you see is strange, unfamiliar islands. Train island, bench island, and so on.

You can’t go out without a boat. The normal routine of life is no longer feasible. No store or school is open. Agricultural fields and some animals are under ocean water. People have scattered around, looking for a shelter or refuge, waiting for Search and Rescue teams. Some even think this is a permanent situation and are scared of drowning in the ocean.

The Ocean’s Boy is the narration of a child’s dreamer mind. He comes from south of Iran, telling the story of people whose lives have been uprooted by a deadly flood.

From the ancient times, people have woven stories, myths, and legends to deal with the natural phenomena and disasters. Today, we can to some precision predict these disasters, but we cannot stop them. In such harsh conditions, children are the most vulnerable.

The boy in this story starts his journey with his miniature animal dolls through his flooded village. This little narrator, with his limited, unexperienced view on life and world, faces his fears. He sees the encounter of life and death, closes his eyes, and takes shelter in his imagination, friendship, and security.

The author and the illustrator have worked hard to bring to life the story and imagination. They, together, can reflect on the cultural diversity, children’s entanglement with hardships they have no part in, and the role of empathy and friendship in our lives.

Although this story happens in south of Iran, considering the chaos we see around the world, it resonates with different readers around the world.