Nine-year old Sam lives with his parents in a small seaside community. His mother is expecting a baby boy, and there is much talk in the house about what to name him. Sam suggests Hercules as a name, explaining “He’s a character from Greek mythology.Our teacher’s reading us a book about him. He was clever and strong and he could take care of himself in all sorts of situations.” His parents are not interested, but Sam thinks “I thought Hercules was a good name for someone small who you wanted to grow up strong and able to look after himself.” (p. 12). While his parents are at work, Sam spends time with Mabel, their elderly next door neighbour, who is the only other person on their street who lives full time in their town. They like to walk on the beach and collect seaweed for her garden. They notice a pair of local oystercatchers (NZ coastal birds) is broody, as if they too will be having a baby soon. They work together to protect the nest. The narrative of preparation for Sam’s brother’s arrival is interwoven with Sam’s time on the beach with Mabel.  

While Sam’s mum goes to hospital to give birth, he goes to stay with Mabel. In the morning, they check on the oystercatchers’ nest, and discover two eggs have hatched. But to Sam’s distress, one of the two birds is dead, abandoned on the sand. When they find the parents and their surviving chick, Mabel explains “sometimes the birds only wait for the first egg to hatch and they leave the second.” (p. 28). She tells the birds “you clever things, you’ve hatched a magic egg.” (p. 28). After watching the birds for a while, they turn to go home. They hear Sam’s name being called – his father is running towards them, telling them joyfully that Sam has a brother, a boy named Michael. “And Dad,” says Sam, “when I’d given him a big hug back and told him how great that was. “Dad, we’ve got a little oystercatcher chick too, and his name is Hercules.” (p. 32). 

A common topic in children’s picture books is the birth of a new sibling. Hercules uses the parallels between the birth of a new boy in Sam’s family with birth of baby birds, to reflect on the meaning of a new baby’s arrival – for the family as a whole, and for the child who must adjust to share their parents. Another common trope is the presence of an elderly friend or confidant, in this case Mabel, with whom Sam can discuss his feelings about the changes in his family.

Sam’s choice of Hercules as the name for a little brother is unusual for a young New Zealand boy. His wish that his brother will be strong and self-reliant perhaps indicates a conflict in Sam’s mind about his new sibling. The mythical or classical elements of the story are not developed in this carefully realistic work, though the idea of strength and resilience is important thematically. Moments like this, in which reference to classical figures is made casually and not developed, show that mythical matters can be present in background roles, rather than having greater significance or intentionality.