The Boy Who Lived with the Seals - Softcover

Martin, Rafe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0698113527 ISBN 13: 9780698113527

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1996

Synopsis

A lost boy who has grown up in the sea with seals returns to his tribe but is strangely changed

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- When a young boy fails to return to his People's camp after playing by the River, his parents search for him, never abandoning hope. Another spring brings a sighting of a boy among the wild seals at the River's mouth, and he is captured and returned to the People. His parents patiently re-educate him in human ways, but although he acquires near-magical skill in making beautiful carvings and useful bows and arrows, his memories of life with the seals alienate him from humans. One day he rejoins the seals, asking his mother and father not to grieve. Their response is to put the box of his carving tools into the River; in return, he leaves them a new canoe every spring, each one more beautifully carved than the last. An expanded version of a Chinook legend, this story recalls European animal-bride and Asian crane-wife tales, but the shift from adult female to child protagonist alters its impact in ways that make it especially appropriate for children. The tale acknowledges the child's individuation, while depicting parents whose love for their offspring is beyond doubt, but who accept both his differentness and, ultimately, his need for separation. The powerful restraint of the narrative, with its understated themes of love, loss, and the immortal gift of art, is balanced by the down-to-earth, expressively stylized realism of the acrylic paintings. This title convincingly suggests the distinctive look of the Northwest Coast peoples and their art. Martin conveys as well the parents' deep concern, the anguish of the boy when he feels displaced, and his exuberant joy with the seals. This is an exceptionally fine addition to the growing shelf of Native American lore. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

In this bittersweet story developed from a Chinook legend, an Indian boy wanders off from his parents as they are camped along a riverbank--"The whole tribe began searching. But there were no traces of the boy." The lad dwells among seals for a time; indeed he becomes one of them, for "he wouldn't talk, but only grunted and barked like a seal." Brought back to his people, he gradually resumes his human traits, and begins to carve canoes, paddles and weapons for his people, all adorned with fantastical "designs of the sea and the sea's creatures." But the youth cannot escape the water's pull: he returns to his marine existence, each year leaving a beautiful canoe for his grieving parents. This second collaboration by the creators of The Rough-Face Girl exhibits many of that work's notable characteristics. Once again Shannon's dark, romantic paintings are dramatically stylized; many of his individual images display a similarly haunting quality. Martin's retelling employs lyrical language while carefully retaining a clarity appropriate for the intended audience. Another potent Native American offering from a gifted pair. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0698113527
• ISBN 13: 9780698113527
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32