Macmurtrey's Wall

By Marc Sutherland

MacMurtrey's people live on a rocky coast along the sea, and he is the tallest, the strongest and the fastest of them all. The are none so great, so great as me MacMurtrey the giant boasts. But all his strength cannot make him happy as long as there is a bird or beast, a hill or tree he has not conquered. He sees that birds can fly - he cages them. He sees that beasts are stronger than he - he fences them in. Then MacMurtrey sets out to wall up the sea itself. Has he finally met his match?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810944944
• ISBN13: 9780810944947
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 28 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 0.4" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Lots of detail

A visually rich picture book with its own symbology-whether a child is aware of it or not. I noticed a year passed in the images from the seasonal changes in the paintings. I noticed lots of Celtic references, ravens that forebode doom and some mysterious apple that appears in every image-all Tolkien-ish if at times grim. The story is deceptively simple with a moral that seems to be aimed at adult readers just as much as their kids. A child should keep this book into adulthood.

A Wonderful Story, Beautifully Illustrated

The story is engaging, with a very sensible moral attached to it. It is the perfect book for young readers or children who are starting to learn to read. The pictures are captivating and the work that went into them were obviously a labor of love.I personally know two little readers who love this author very much.

A truly engaging story with a soft-spoken moral.

Marc Sutherland's Macmurtrey's Wall is a superbly presented picturebook of a giant named MacMurtrey, who was stronger and braver than every other living thing. Believe that conquering everyone was the path to happiness, MacMurtrey challenged the one force that defied him: the sea. He set to cage the sea itself with a wall - but his plan held great hidden peril, and the true path to happiness is not always what it appears to be. An engaging story with a soft-spoken moral, Macmurtney's Wall is very highly recommended for elementary school and community library collections.

I loved this book!! It is the perfect gift!

The pictures were wonderful - each one like having a fine piece of Art. The central character's endless pursuit of greatness and final realization that friendship and community is a far greater accomplishmnet than outrageous (and harmful) showings of physical strength could be easily translated to today. I loved the that the book has an ancient fable-like feel but was produced and created by a 21st century author.Very high quality and meaningful book. I highly recommend.