Sally and the Limpet

James, Simon

ISBN 10: 0689505280 ISBN 13: 9780689505287

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry, 1991

Synopsis

Sally learns a valuable lesson about nature and the environment when she pries a limpet off a rock at the ocean's edge and then is unable to pry it from her finger

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 1-- A simple environmental tale. Sally is playing at the beach when she finds a brightly colored shell. As she pries it off a rock, the limpet suctions itself to her finger and won't let go. Sally's father, brother, teacher, classmates, and even the doctor try to remove it, but none are successful. Finally, in a fit of frustration, Sally runs back to the beach and jumps into the water. Back in familiar surroundings, the shell detaches itself from Sally's finger. She remembers learning that limpets spend their lives in one spot, so she carefully returns it to its original place. The subtle live-and-let-live lesson is strengthened by James's whimsical pen-and-ink drawings with watercolor washes. Reminiscent of Quentin Blake's work, they add charm and humor and bring the story to life. The length of text, format, and vocabulary are accessible to beginning readers and make a suitable classroom read-aloud. --Laura Culberg, Chicago Public Library Cultural Center
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sally, a round-faced girl with a mop of blond hair, is exploring on the beach when she discovers a limpet (a barnacle-like gastropod) adhered to a rock. Sally prys the limpet loose, but it becomes stuck to the top of her finger. No one has any luck dislodging the small creature--not even the doctor, who tries chemicals, injections, potions and pinchers. Finally, the youngster runs back to the beach and jumps--fully clothed--into the water, where the limpet, "feeling at home once more, made a little squelching noise and wiggled off her finger." And, since her nature teacher had said that limpets spend their entire lives on the same rock, Sally sets it back where she found it. James's affable book offers much to young readers: an engaging, chatty text; breezy, amusing pictures; and a valuable, subtly conveyed message about the importance of respecting the natural world around them. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sally tugs a limpet (a mollusk famous for hanging on) from its seaside rock, only to find it stuck fast to her finger. Tiring of efforts to detach it, which culminate in a battery of onslaughts by a doctor, Sally escapes back to the sea and jumps in, whereupon the limpet frees itself and--newly sensitive to its feelings--Sally gently puts it back on the rock where she found it. Simple but telling, with cartoon-style illustrations whose deft draftsmanship compares honorably with Quentin Blake's and a Steig-like blend of humor and tenderness. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0689505280
• ISBN 13: 9780689505287
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 28