Two young brothers, on holiday at the seashore, experience the wonder of both the natural and supernatural worlds when a beautiful "sea egg" that they buy hatches into a mischievous triton. Although not quite as persuasive in its narration as the classic Green Knowe books, or her astonishing The Guardians of the House, the author manages to tell an engaging story in this short novel, with two realistic and likable protagonists.

Boston displays the occasional flash of brilliance in her evocative descriptions of the sea and its creatures, and the enchantment they weave over Toby and Joe. While this is clearly a book intended for young readers, the adult who happens upon it might well wonder whether is contains a deeper metaphor about the nature of childhood. Just as the brief holiday provides a moment of enchanted calm before the storm, for both boys and triton, so too does childhood serve as an all-too-brief preface to the wilder waters of maturity. But all idylls must end...

Like most of Boston's work, The Sea Egg was illustrated by the author's son, Peter Boston. ( )