Otter-Barry books ISBN 9781910959473 £12.99
What a joy to discover the republication of this glorious book in a beautiful cloth-bound hardback edition. Talented author and water-colourist, Jackie Morris, has relocated the Selkie myth about the seal wife from its more usual Scottish location to her Pembrokeshire coastal home. Instead of the Selkie’s skin being hidden by her human lover to prevent her return to the sea, as in most legends, here it is given freely into the care of Ewan the fisherman as their love blossoms. Time passes and two children are born of this union. Eventually, the wife pines for the sea and is allowed to return, but when a stranger appears and beguiles the villagers with tales of prosperity in the New World, if only they can afford to relocate, the children remember their seal-mother’s tales of riches beneath the ocean… Can she help them?
This is a haunting story about family love which transcends loss and separation. It touches upon economic migration, the strength of community and the loss of homeland. All this is wrapped in spare, beautifully lyrical prose and paintings in which you can smell the salty air, hear the wheeling gulls and glimpse a shining seal slip beneath the waves. Written at the time of her own marriage break-up, Morris has achieved a poignant authenticity to her tale, whilst also lacing it through with hope. What a wonderful addition to a classroom study of traditional tales throughout primary school, with depths to be plumbed for older children, including this stunning writing.
Sue Barrett, former primary deputy head and senior lecturer in Primary Education at CCCU
