No mention is made in the text of the boy's disability, but Michael Foreman's stunning illustrations clearly show crutches and a wheel chair. The boy and his grandfather see a seal pup being born one evening when they are looking for mussels. A bond grows up between the two humans and the seals, and through the seasons the grandfather, a fisherman, often goes to the shore to feed the seals and play them music on his car radio. The boy learns to surf, and in the water he is like his able-bodied friends. One day he falls from his surfboard, and the young seal, who has been swimming with him, saves his life. Through stormy winters and gentle springs, the seals are sometimes missing, and the boy is concerned for their safety. But one day he sees the now grown young seal with a pup of her own, and he feels they will always be there, even when he is grown with grandchildren of his own. A watery blue is the basic colour for the evocative illustrations. This is a book to be enjoyed over and over again.