The Sea Man

Publisher Notes

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.

Synopses

When sailors aboard a Dutch ship in 1663 capture a creature, half man and half fish, the superstitious crewmen want to kill it, except for a young cabin boy who believes that the creature deserves to live.