Synopsis
A seal sheds her skin and becomes a beautiful woman, but even after marrying and bearing a son she longs to return to her seal family in the sea.
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Reviews
Kindergarten-Grade 4 A lovely version of the seal-wife folktale that emphasizes the mother-son relationship. Having stolen the sealskin of a selkie, a love-struck fisherman promises her its return after seven years of wedlock. But when the time is up, he refuses. Their young son overhears the pleas and arguments, and aided by a seal's song, seeks and finds the pelt for his mother. Revealing her nature, she takes the boy beneath the sea to meet his seal kin. (The singing seal is here her father, not first husband.) Promising to visit often, the boy returns to his remorseful father, and when the son marries, he begins the tradition of having the extended family meet each Midsummer Eve, to fiddle and to dance on the seal rocks. The watercolors on each page of text reflect the sea life above or below the waters in lovely patterns and hues, especially in the mood-setting night scenes. A picture book of warmth and magic. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Gerstein reworks the selkie myth into a deeply moving story of a son's loveand sacrificefor his mother. On Midsummer's Eve a beautiful seal slips out of her skin and takes "human form to dance and sing." A fisherman hides the sealskin and promises that if she will marry him, he will allow her to go free in seven years. When the time comes, it is her son Andrew who must bravely find the sealskin and choose to set her free. Like all good folktales, this story, told by an old man with "deep, dark eyes," hovers between magic and reality. Yet this version has a poignant touch; Andrew's moment of truth is stirring and human. The extraordinary pictures allow the reader to glimpse the images of what might beanimals that gleam orange in the firelight and seals that dance like humans in the shimmering sea.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I3N00
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Reno, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I3N10
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I3N10
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Reno, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I5N00
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I5N00
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I3N10
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The Seal Mother
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0803703023I4N10