Caroline Pitcher

A lonely old woman named Mariana, living by herself in a tiny seaside hut, is given a very special gift in this traditional Chilean tale, gracefully retold by Caroline Pitcher, and beautifully illustrated by Jackie Morris. Longing for company, but seemingly unable to befriend the local village children; loving the sea, but fearful of the howling sea-wolves who would emerge during stormy weather, Mariana spent her days alone. Until the morning, that is, that she found a lovely little show more red-haired merchild washed up on shore, and - with the mother Sea Spirit's permission - became its foster-mother. Mariana loved the merchild more than anything in the world, and took great joy in caring for her, although she knew that one day her charge must return to the sea. Would she be more alone than ever, when that day came, or would the coming of the merchild change Mariana's life in a more permanent way...?

Taken from Brenda Hughes' Folk Tales from Chile, this wonderful story addresses so many important themes - childless women, and how they are perceived in society; the elderly, and how they interact with the young; our relationship to the natural world, and how we both depend upon it for our very lives, and are vulnerable to its extremes - in an oblique, rather than didactic fashion. The story itself is quite appealing - who doesn't love the idea of discovering a magical being, and befriending it - and the illustrations are gorgeous! Jackie Morris - whose Tell Me a Dragon is likewise beautiful - has a style that seems ideally suited for fantastic tales. Highly recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, mermaid lovers, and Jackie Morris fans! show less

Unfortunately, there's no author's note... this claims to be a traditional folk tale, but without some sort of note or bibliography I'm not convinced.  Still, it's a lovely little tale, and it could be from any culture that know of mer-people.  The art is full of expression and color, but not too busy or scribbly.   Recommended.

This is a beautiful book. It has lovely pictures of horses - a mare and her foal, plus a few other horses. It has a sweet message: A youngster will grow up and be unafraid when the mom will leave for work because the mom will later return. It is a simple metaphor for a child's growing independence. It's lovely to read as well because the foal asks real questions which can be very important to a child: Where was his mother? What's that noise? Will you be there with me? I liked reading this show more book to my 2 1/2-year old grandson who has been entrusted to my care while his own mom is at work. I think my grandson and I were both reassured by this story. show less

The illustrations in this book were so colorful and water like. I enjoyed reading this to both my 1 year old and 7 year old daughter. It shows the love and compassion that a mother and child share.