Amazon.com: The Sea Man (9780399229398): Jane Yolen, Christopher Denise: Books

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

What creature is this--half man, half fish? So wonder the crew of a small Dutch ship when they pull the creature up from the sea. Surely, they say, we should kill it before it brings bad luck. But the ship's lieutenant is not a superstitious man. Unlike his crew, he feels honor bound to heal the creature and return him to sea. When he spies a sea wife and sea child waiting by the boat, the lieutenant knows the time has come. What he doesn't know is that his compassion has earned him a guardian and a friend whose knowledge of the ocean will forever touch his life. With The Sea Man, Jane Yolen spins a rich fantasy which reminds us that learning to accept others, despite their differences, can open us to vast new worlds of truth and understanding. Jane Yolen lives in Hatfield, MA. Christopher Denise lives in Providence, RI.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } What creature is this--half man, half fish? So wonder the crew of a small Dutch ship when they pull the creature up from the sea. Surely, they say, we should kill it before it brings bad luck. But the ship's lieutenant is not a superstitious man. Unlike his crew, he feels honor bound to heal the creature and return him to sea. When he spies a sea wife and sea child waiting by the boat, the lieutenant knows the time has come. What he doesn't know is that his compassion has earned him a guardian and a friend whose knowledge of the ocean will forever touch his life. With The Sea Man, Jane Yolen spins a rich fantasy which reminds us that learning to accept others, despite their differences, can open us to vast new worlds of truth and understanding. Jane Yolen lives in Hatfield, MA. Christopher Denise lives in Providence, RI.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-In April, 1663, Lieutenant Maarten Huiskemp befriends a young cabin boy, Pieter, and discusses with him the "fact" that mermaids are mythical. When a half-man, half-fish creature is caught in the ship's nets and brought onboard, the lieutenant is torn between belief in the "humanity" of the creature and fear of its unnaturalness. Through his conversations with Pieter and his private musings, readers see the man move slowly toward accepting that the creature has feelings, can think, and can even communicate despite being mute. When he and Pieter see the merman's wife and daughter swimming near the ship, he realizes that they cannot let him die. Over the protests of the superstitious crew, they release him. This is a gentle, thought-provoking story that is based on a historical sighting. There is little action since Lieutenant Huiskemp's struggle is an internal one. He is presented as a conscientious leader who is very much a part of his time but who has an inquiring and open mind. Pieter is presented as a kind of catalyst to the lieutenant's thinking. He questions established beliefs and is genuinely concerned for and accepting of the sea man. The last chapter, in which the merman teaches the Lieutenant a form of sign language after his release, does not ring as true as the rest of the narrative, but young readers may find it satisfying. Full-page dark and shadowy illustrations that reflect the magical nature of the story are scattered throughout.
Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A 1663 sailing ship is the setting for this short chapter book. Rescuing what appears to be a man trapped in a net, the sailors discover that from the waist down, the creature has the tail of a fish. The lieutenant in charge of the ship grapples with the conflicting views of legend, science, and religion as well as with the problem of protecting the merman from the knives of his superstitious crew and returning him to the ocean. His kindness to the sea man earns him an unusual reward. Nine softly shaded pencil drawings illustrate the story and reflect its understated style. Though the cabin boy is a sympathetic child-character, the point of view is that of the lieutenant, whose philosophical concerns may not hold young readers. Still, those looking for something different will find this an unusual story with attractive pencil illustrations. Carolyn Phelan

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Jane Yolen Page

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."