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Dolphins Under My Bed

Sandra Clayton
Wheatmark (2008)
ISBN 9781587368165
Reviewed by Gina Holland for RebeccasReads (4/08)

“Dolphins Under My Bed” was just one of those autobiographies that keeps you reading, no matter if you are bored with it or not, because you really want, need, to get to the end to see what happens to the two lovely people in the story.  This novel, as it was written by Sandra Clayton, tells us about an awesome journey, troublesome times within the journey, but more than anything, the freedom and peace that was found at the finish of the journey.  Sandra Clayton starts from the beginning; from the time she and David, her husband, discuss taking this long journey on a nice big boat, to warmer climates, so that their health may improve. David has lots of allergies and the thought is that if they journey to warmer waters and better climate that his health will improve. David suggests to Sandra that they give up their home and everything they know, to retire to a life of sailing.  At first Sandra is questioning David’s suggestion and wondering if they could ever do it. She hates sailing or so she thinks she does.

As we travel along with the Clayton’s they let us in on the places that they see, the people that they meet. Some of the places are beautiful and some are just sort of plain and just there. But they seem to enjoy every stop that they make. They meet people of different cultures.  We learn of the different foods that they find in the various supermarkets along the way. Surprisingly, there rarely come across any mean spirited people. Sandra is a little bit fluent in some of the languages; therefore, she does her best to communicate.  Keeping the boat equipped and cleaned is something that Sandra and David get used too; at first it is a real tough time for them. But as the story goes on, you see that they get accustomed to everything that needs to be done to put their sailboat in port and to keep the boat running.  I really adore and admire these two people for the accomplishments that they make during their sailing journey.

I think that “Dolphins Under My Bed” would be great for any age readers. I think that it shows us, that when we set our minds to do something, it can be done. Some things can make us better if we see it through and that’s what the Clayton’s teach us. I was somewhat disappointed with the title of the story. There was only one mention of what Sandra thought was dolphins under the boat. Turns out the singing she heard and the calls were whales. They did mention that dolphins and whales were moving about together, which was sort of rare they said. I was looking forward to hearing about more ocean animals as they went on their journey, but nothing was ever mentioned again about their run-in with any other ocean creatures. I was really hoping that there would be more talk of dolphins, as I have loved them all my life. The story itself was great and I wish the Claytons all the luck in the world. Maybe Sandra can write us another book about what happened when they got to the end of their journey. Or maybe when they got their, it was really the beginning of the journey of the rest of their lives.

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