Seal Song by Andrea Spalding
Illustrated by Pascal Milelli. unpgd. Orca Book Publishers, October, 2011. 978-1-55469-242-2. (Chosen to review for InfoLinkNJ)
Finn works hard on his father's fishing boat, but he loves to swim in a secret cave with the seals. After rescuing a seal from a fishing net, Finn nurses it back to health and wishes that she lived on land. The seals sing that night and the following day, a strange girl appears on the docks. The other fishermen are not happy, but Finn and Sheila become instant best friends. Only Sheila never goes in the water despite Finn's pleas. When Finn decides to go out fishing alone one day, Sheila warns him that a storm is blowing in. He ignores her warnings and gets lost at sea. Sheila dives into the ocean and rescues Finn with the help of other seals. Only she can never return to land.
This selkie story is set in the Pacific Northwest. The prose weaves gentle magic, but the illustrations command attention here. Softly hued, earthy, watery, the reader is bound to get lost in each one.