A young girl visiting her grandparents at the beach stays in a little house and walks along the shore gathering seashells, wondering about the creatures who used to live in each shell, about the hidden treasures of the sea--and about the world.

"My dear, sweet child. Go ahead. Don't be afraid ..." Eleven-year-old Shelly Anderson just wants to be popular. Her parents have split and she has to start over at a new school with different classes, a brand new swim team and an unfamiliar social scene. So what if she just wants the cool kids to like her? Is that really too much to ask? So when Shelly finds a mysterious nautilus shell that summons the infamous sea witch, Ursula, she jumps at her...

Every summer, when Sora's Halmoni, or grandmother, visits from South Korea, the two of them take the bus to the beach to search for seashells. While Sora likes to take all of them back with her, Halmoni always leaves the prettiest shell for someone else to find and treasure. As summer turns to fall, Halmoni returns home and Sora starts kindergarten, where some of the kids tease her about her "weird" name. One day, Sora's parents receive a sad call...

"Ivo lives in a shell that floats on the ocean and writes stories to pass the time"-- Provided by publisher.