The Soulful Adventure of Spencer, the Soft-hearted Seal by Margaret Lepera: A Review

Books have existed, in one form or another, for thousands of years.  The writings of humankind have been recorded on papyrus scrolls, chiseled into the surfaces of stone tablets, and printed on paper.  They’re converted to digital files to be read on the screens of computers, tablets, and smart phones, and they’re recorded, then played back in audio form from the speakers of those same devices.  But whether its content is scrawled in ancient hand across the desiccated sheets of hammered, pithy plant stems, printed upon pulped and processed paper, or dispersed in sound wave form via the speaker of an iPhone, a book’s power to enchant, inform, and inspire is, and always has been, undeniable and profound.  And although there has been a book written for literally every type of reader, and purveyed in every single consumer market segment imaginable, I believe that it’s the burgeoning curiosity, and the impressionable, absorptive nature of young minds (and hearts) upon which a book’s magic – the power and permanence of its subject matter – has always had the deepest and most resonant impact.  Little kids internalize what they read (or what’s been read to them).  They take the messages gleaned from these writings to heart, and they carry them into adulthood and throughout the remainder of their lives.  This has definitely been true in my particular case.

Children’s fiction (really, anything that’s written for children) serves as a beacon of sorts for its intended audience – and since the stories come at a critical time in a little human being’s mental and emotional development, it’s vital that the intellectual and emotive light cast by a given book remains clear and true.  Great discernment on the part of parents, educators, and the like is essential in selecting stuff for little kids to read, because this is the stuff that’s going to stick with them. 

This is my first review of a work of children’s fiction here on The Renaissance Garden Guy.  Since I so strongly believe in the importance of the quality of what’s written between the covers of any given children’s book (I always check out what’s new and what’s trending in this market segment), I guess I’m a little surprised at myself for taking so long to publish my thoughts on such a work.  But if I had to pin my opinion-spouting tardiness on a particular factor, I suppose it would have to be the immeasurably vast proliferation of children’s books on the market (the number of published titles is incalculably huge), and the resultant difficulty of selecting one that struck me as more worthy of note and comment than any of the others within the genre.  (There are a lot of wonderful books out there for the kiddos, but there’s also a lot of crap.  Wading through a hip-deep stream of stinky stuff that’s not worthy of bad-mouthing is time consuming, and discouraging.)

So here I was, putting off any children’s book reviews indefinitely, when The Soulful Adventure of Spencer, the Soft-hearted Seal, by Margaret Lepera, all of a sudden shows up on my radar.  I discovered the book while on Twitter in a tweet by its author.  Although the description of the story offered by Ms. Lepera (and by the book’s publisher and various sales platforms), and the substantial number of five-star reviews by readers were all incredibly intriguing, what really first hooked me was what I saw on the book’s cover; author Lepera’s evocative title itself, and the wonderful cover art of Romi Caron, combined to present an emotional and sensory ensemble I found impossible to resist.  I mean c’mon…  a story about a gentle baby seal’s adventure, a beautiful illustration depicting humanity’s kindness toward a fellow, non-human creature?  Anybody who reads me regularly here knows that I’m a sucker for stories – fictional or otherwise – with exactly this kind of theme.

But again, this was just the hook.

I couldn’t wait for the book to arrive, and when it did, I promptly read it.  From cover to cover.  And then I read it again.  And again.  The story itself is sixty-two pages long, including the illustrations, and it’s a fast read for an adult and an ideal length for a younger child (perfect for ages 5-9).  It’s about the titular baby seal who is accidentally separated from his mother, father, and older brother.  Throughout his adventure, Spencer routinely relies on his own courage, clear thinking, and good decision making – qualities he acquired/learned from his family – to get him past challenging situations.  He also learns to rely on the kindness of strangers – both people and other animals – and he sharpens his ability to differentiate the good intentions of others from the bad.  The story is sweet, and ostensibly simple.  But its nature and tone is established by means of the subtle, ingenious methodology employed by the author.  And its essence is informed clearly and profoundly by the obvious breadth and depth of Margaret Lepera’s personal kindness and empathy, her recognition and deep appreciation of the most universal, timeless, and important of life’s values, and her keen perception of the innate interconnectedness which exists among all living, sentient beings.  So yes, the story is simple enough for children to understand and appreciate, but it’s packed with an elemental, transcendent message that readers of all ages – including adults – will recognize, and would be better for observing.