Seamus and the Shiny Things, written and illustrated by Cara Kansala
Truly a children’s picture book to crow about
You meet a friend for coffee or lunch. You’re having a good convo—then, abruptly, it stops. Your friend can’t, simply can’t, resist pausing to wave their hands about and admire their sparkly-painted nails.
Proving that, contrary to stereotype, it isn’t only crows who adore shiny objects. Or, as author/illustrator Cara Kansala calls them, “shinys.” Not grammatically correct, no. But since Kansala writes so engagingly about her corvid protagonist in Seamus and the Shiny Things, we’ll grant her poetic licence. “Shinys” it is.
“The brilliance of this shinily illustrated, winningly told story is that young readers will learn the same moral as Seamus does without realizing they’re learning it.”
Seamus does love his shinys. However, unlike the nails-admiring humans I’ve cited, Seamus isn’t annoying. He’s too cute, too likeable, with his bright, popping eyes, his jokes, and his impressive, soaring swoop-dee-doop’s. In his crow ’hood, tiny Seamus was “adored by all the rest / his laughter was contagious/and he’d often joke and jest.”
Every good story has conflict. In Seamus’s case, it’s with himself. He gets ever greedier about collecting shinys. One day, spying a friend winging by with a bright blue shiny, Seamus caws, “That blue’s for me!” Swoop-dee-doo-ing, he steals it and gloats, “I’ll get them all!... They’ll all be mine one day!”
His obsession is understandable, up to a point. “Seamus disliked plainness, / and the shinys sparkled bright.” Who doesn’t prefer sparkly over plain? But our feathered King Midas goes too far. Not only does he fill his nest with shinys, but also uses them to string together a heavy crown for himself. Now the weight of all the shinys traps Seamus. He’s unable to exit his nest to find food.
Worried about how weak he’s getting, the other crows flock to him with berries. In one of the most dramatic and exciting of Kansala’s lively illustrations, Seamus’s friends pour down the page, bright berries in their beaks.
Finally understanding the perils of greed, Seamus gives away his shinys. The brilliance of this shinily illustrated, winningly told story is that young readers will learn the same moral as Seamus does without realizing they’re learning it. Which, to me, is the ideal result of a good kids’ story. A food equivalent would be, say, enjoying tasty jam so much that you don’t think about the nutritional value of the healthy whole-wheat toast it’s spread on.
As for Seamus, he happily returns to swoop-de-doop-ing with the other crows. He now has the best type of shiny: a spiritual one. “His heart’s aglow for now he knows / What friendship really means.”
About the Author and Illustrator
Born in Northern Ontario, Cara Kansala has called Newfoundland home for over 20 years. A full-time folk artist and children’s book author and illustrator, Cara work is a recognizable fixture throughout the province and often brings smiles and laughter wherever it lands. Her most recent book, The Ewe Who Knew Who Knit You, published by Breakwater Books, won the 2024 WritersNL Award for Children’s Literature.
About the Reviewer
Melanie Jackson is a freelance Vancouver writer/editor. She’s also the award-winning author of middle-grade/YA suspensers, including Orca Books’ Dinah Galloway Mystery Series, and several chillers set in amusement parks. Visit Melanie’s page at The Writers’ Union of Canada.
Book Details
Publisher: Breakwater Books, October 28, 2025
Language: English
Paperback: 32 pages
ISBN 9781778530692