The Islander

By Cynthia Rylant

Book Overview

Living with his grandfather on an island off British Columbia, orphaned ten-year-old Daniel feels deep loneliness until the night he meets a mermaid whose identity he tries to learn This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789424908
• ISBN13: 9780789424907
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Dk Pub
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 11 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 6 to 12

Customer Reviews

Loaded with Atmosphere and Magic

This is a slim little book that you will probably love enough to own the hardcover version that is fast disappearing! It can easily be read in a single sitting and you will wish that it was longer. Pre-teen and teenaged people will enjoy it as will adults with romantic souls. It is set on an island off the Pacific Coast of Bristish Columbia and so has sea atmosphere and enchantment swirling about it like fog and salt-scented breeze. The story is poignant and the writing is sensitve and lyrical. An orphaned boy is living on this small island with his grandfather. He is given a magical gift by a mermaid and it makes a big difference in his life. Since this is a short and beautifully simple book I don't want to spoil it for you by giving away too many details but I found it very touching. The descriptions in the book transported me to the island and opened my heart to all the characters. It is a ghostly, magical love story on several different levels. Don't miss it!

The Islander

Are you looking for a interesting mystery? You should choose the Islander.I am a fifth grade student, I read this book for a mystery book report. I loved it. It's about a boy named Daniel and he lives on an island. A sea otter throws him a shell with a key inside.He finds out it a mermaids but he doesn't know what it opens.If you are interested and want to know how it ends read the book.Cynthia Rylant does a great job leaving you hanging at the end of each chapter. Hope you like it.

Magical!

This book of childhood, magic, and mermaids actually came to me in a magical way. I was in an art supply store, a place that never carries novels. The Islander was right there on the shelf in front of the ceramic painting books. I picked it up, flipped through it, and felt Destiny's hand nudge me toward the checkout counter. I'm glad I obeyed!Daniel, whose tale is told in The Islander, encounters magic in exactly the same way as this book fell into my hands. A lonely orphan living with his kindly grandfather, Daniel finds a mermaid's comb one day while walking the beach; from there the magical mystery begins. (It is hard to say much about the story without the risk of spoiling it.) Reading it, I was reminded of the lonely moments in my own childhood when I wished for exactly the kind of magic that happened to Daniel.It's officially a Young Adult's book, but my wife and I both enjoyed it deeply. I'd recommend it for adults who still love innocent, loving magic just as highly as I'd recommend it to young people.

Lovely and mystical

I am enamoured with most everything Rylant writes and will buy her books just because she wrote them. This story reads like a prose poem -- her language is spare and beautiful. Mysteries abound and heart wrenching surprises arrive in small phrases without pretense. The imagery and characters are unforgettable. Daniel has such a feminine side, shielded from the media saturated mainland. His loneliness and sense of "different-ness" will resonate with everyone.

The Islander is a treasure.

Have you ever just picked up a book and known you would connect with it. The Islander is that type of book. Daniel is an extrememly likeable character. His blending of vunerablity, and persistance create a character not to be forgotten easily. The mermaid, caring for hurt creatures and an understanding grandfather make this a story to enjoy again, and again. Bravo!