Sea-Cat and Dragon King - Softcover

Carter, Angela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1582347689 ISBN 13: 9781582347684

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2002

Synopsis

This is a magical story of the love between mother and child and the gifts of kindness and understanding. Dragon King and Sea-Cat both live under the sea. Sea-Cat lives with his mother who sews him fabulous jewel-encrusted suits that shimmer and capture the attention of all who see him. Dragon King, the ruler, lives a sad and lonely life as he is so ashamed of his ugliness. When he sees Sea-Cat in his beautiful suit, he is overcome with jealousy and wants the suit for himself. But Sea-Cat is clever and kind and befriends Dragon King. Sea-Cat knows his mother can turn the Dragon King's ruby tears into a most dazzling suit, just for him!

About this title

About the Author

Angela Carter died in 1992, but her novels, short story collections, and essays live on, attracting new generations of readers to her often dark, always quirky worldview. Perhaps best known for her adult fiction (Wise Children, Nights at the Circus, Burning Your Boats, Saints and Strangers, among other titles), Carter was also a gifted and prolific essayist. She wrote screenplays, translated the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, and edited collections of folk tales but this is her only book for children.

Eva Tatcheva studied illustration at the Royal College of Art in London. She is the illustrator of Witch Zelda's Birthday Cake: A Wild and Wicked Pop-Up, Pull-The-Tab Book. She lives in London.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-In fanciful and imaginative detail, Carter explains how life under the sea is exactly the same as on land-only different. Because his fur might get soggy and matted, Sea-Cat wears a suit lovingly knitted from the seaweed and jewels that he and his mother have found under the water. When the supremely ugly Dragon King sees the beautifully adorned feline, he kidnaps him to get the garment, but of course it doesn't fit him. Sea-Cat's mother then knits the dragon a suit "truly fit for a Dragon King," replete with the ruby tears he has self-pityingly produced, and now he, too, walks the sea bottom in splendor. While the story is slight, and the triumph of accepting oneself because of beautiful clothes is suspect, it is the friendship the three characters forge that serves the book well. With its big words and turns of phrase (Dragon King in his new suit is "a complete festival in himself alone"), Carter's language will delight children. Tatcheva's squiggly line depiction perfectly suits the author's style, and cat lovers as well as animal-fantasy fans will find much to like in this beginning chapter book.
Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1582347689
• ISBN 13: 9781582347684
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96
• Illustrator: Tatcheva Eva