Selkie

by Gillian McClure

Book Overview

Peter is curious about the legend of the selkie, a seal who can turn into a girl. When his curiosity gets the better of him, he discovers that the selkie is more than just a legend-she is a friend.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374367094
• ISBN13: 9780374367091
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Empathy

This is short sweet picture book with the beautiful blues and greens of the sea in its charming illustrations. It tells the tale of a boy who makes friends with a young selkie, ( a shape-shifter who can transform from a seal to a girl by taking her sealskin off.) Their friendship helps him appreciate her uniqueness and also the subtle and mysterious "language of the sea." Unlike the greedy oysterman who captures the selkie and imprisons her so that he can force the language of the sea from her to make himself rich, the boy appreciates her and befriends her and in the end receives a gift freely given and so, all the more precious. I gave this book 4 stars because I really like it but it is not a masterpiece. Never the less, it is a good story contrasting greed with kindness and is deserving of its 4 stars in more ways than one.