The Sea Serpent and Me [Hardcover]

Dashka Slater (Author), Catia Chien (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

When a tiny sea serpent tumbles from the bathtub faucet, a little girl finds an unexpected friend. As rainy day after rainy day passes, the two sing songs, take baths, and talk about the sea.
But little girls live on land, and a growing sea serpent needs wave upon wave of water.
Here’s a story about the true meaning of friendship, perfect for children, parents, and anyone who has ever had second thoughts about growing up.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—A child narrates her experiences with a friendly sea serpent in this quietly quirky book. The creature drops out of the bathtub faucet while the girl is bathing and the two immediately begin playing and splashing. She puts him in the aquarium next to her bed and, as they converse, she discovers how he ended up in her bathtub and that he longs to return to the sea. She is determined to take him back, but the next day it's too rainy to go out. After a few more days of precipitation, the serpent, who has grown too big for the tub, points out, "the rain isn't any wetter than the ocean," and they decide to make the trek. At the shore, the serpent is reluctant to leave his friend, but she gently assures him that his new adventures in the ocean will be spectacular. The lovely watercolor illustrations are lush with vivid blues and greens, and the bathtub and underwater scenes are full of movement and life. The impressionistic paintings allow readers to fill in details. The text flows well and highlights the strong bond between the child and the serpent, a bond that will hold even when they are oceans apart. A great choice for one-on-one sharing, and as a bedtime story.—Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
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Review

"Slater's lyrical text is accompanied by Chien's delightfully watery paintings in blues and greens...Imaginative and engaging." Kirkus 4/15/08

Kirkus Reviews

"Illustrator Catia Chien's vibrant watercolor paintings reflect author Dashka Slater's lyrical underwater world." The Seattle Times

"The artwork in acrylic and charcoal pencil is as lyrical and beguiling as the prose." San Jose Mercury News

"It's a sweet, fanciful story about an unlikely friendship that seems as deep and real as any human one." The San Francisco Chronicle

"The text flows well and highlights the strong bond between the child and the serpent, a bond that will hold even when they are oceans apart. A great choice for one-on-one sharing, and as a bedtime story." June 2008 School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (May 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618723943
• ISBN-13: 978-0618723942
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #628,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was little, I liked to tell stories. Both of my parents are writers, and they used to read me stories, and tell me stories, and my mother even used to draw little picture books that were all about me. I started by telling stories to my mother, who wrote them down for me until I was old enough to write them down myself.

Every week I went to the library and checked out as many books as I could carry. Soon I began filling up notebooks writing my own stories. I sent some of what I wrote to the contests at the back of Cricket Magazine, and several of them were published there.

I began writing poetry when I was seven, and wrote more and more of it as I got older. In high school I took some classes at the local university with the the poet Lawson Inada who loaned me lots of books of poetry and told me that the best way to be a good writer was to read more than I wrote. That's some of the best advice anyone has ever given me.

I kept writing poetry, and won some contests and published some poems and generally got enough encouragement that I never thought of myself as anything other than a writer. After college I began writing for magazines and newspapers, and eventually learned enough about how to organize a narrative to write a novel called The Wishing Box, which was published in 2000 by Chronicle Books and named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times.

My son was born right around the same time, and so I was soon immersed in the world of children's books again, which had always been my first love. Like many parents, I had the urge to write some myself, and so I did. My first books, Baby Shoes and Firefighters in the Dark, were inspired by things my son was interested in. My third book, The Sea Serpent and Me, is based on a story I wrote when I was ten -- it will be released in 2008.

I have continued to write fiction for adults as well, and in 2004 received a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, which I used to work on a short story collection. I also continue to write articles for magazines -- you can find my journalism in places like Sierra, Mother Jones, and More.

I write every day, sometimes for children and sometimes for grown-ups, because telling stories is still my favorite thing to do.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for my daughter, April 28, 2008

By 

Phoebe Caulfield (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Serpent and Me (Hardcover)

I couldn't believe it when I found this book. My four year-old daughter has always been fascinated by sea serpents, and I was so pleased to find that it is a little GIRL who finds the sea serpent in her bathtub. Not that I mind having her constantly relate to boy characters when it comes to her fascination with stories about sea serpents and dragons and dinosaurs, but it is so refreshing to finally see one about a girl. The story is lovely, and the illustrations are just beautiful. And no pink! Yippee!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars illustrations are fabulous, August 2, 2008

By 

Must Love Books "Sarah" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Serpent and Me (Hardcover)

The story here is fun. A little girl discovers a sea serpent and the book follows her journey from raising it, to realizing she has to let it go, to the moment when they part. It's lovely and simple and sweet. Children really respond to the understated emotion of the text and the rhythm of the story. And the book's illustrations are spectacular. Catia Chien has such a unique style and such a sense of storytelling. Every page is bursting with energy, The underwater creatures (the sea serpent included) are full of imagination and whimsy. There are whales wearing bow ties, fish shaped like guitars and an octopus with a top hat. Every time I read this book I discover fantastical new creatures hiding in the depths. But my favorite page is a simple illustration of the girl and the sea serpent facing one another, alone beneath an arc of flying fish. The girl's arm reaches out, almost touching the serpent. The text reads: '"But what if I'm lonely?" my sea serpent asked.' It's a quite page, and the tone is subdued. Then the story picks up again, the whales in bow ties appear, and the girl and serpent finally part. The Sea Serpent and Me is truly a beautiful book from beginning to end and I highly recommend it for children and children at heart everywhere.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Sea Serpent, July 5, 2008

By 

Shakespeare Lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Serpent and Me (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely wonderful book. It is a story about growing up, deep friendship and letting go. I read it to my 6 year old grandson and he and I were both completely delighted by the story. In fact, as the book came to its conclusion, my eyes welled up with tears.
The illustrations are enchanting and the writing is simply perfect....I recommend it to every child, every parent and certainly every grandparent.