The Boy Who Lived with the Seals

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

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.