The Search for Shehakim

An evening of storytelling around the fire turns into an exciting adventure for Mahana, a young girl who lives on the island of Ua Huka, when she hears a voice calling her name. The voice leads her to the beach, where she falls asleep in a boat.

Mahana loves to dream about travelling to new places, and she deeply desires to visit Shehakim (heaven), so when the boat breaks loose and she wakes up to find herself drifting out to sea, she decides to sail towards a star that points to heaven. Along the way, she meets Tarila, a young dolphin who became separated from her pod when a shark attacked. Tarila is caught in some loose fishing net, so Mahana frees her and together they continue on the adventure, encountering storms, hunger, and fatigue. Mahana eventually falls asleep and dreams of visiting her grandparents in Shehakim, which surprisingly looks a lot like Ua Huka!

After several days of drifting, they discover Tarila's pod. Now reunited with her family, Tarila and the pod help Mahana find her way home, but not before a repeat encounter with the shark!

Young readers will delight in this tale of courage, friendship, and ocean life. As Mahana discovers, we don’t have to wait to know the happiness that heaven holds, because the secret is appreciating what we have today with our family and friends.