We finished Seabird today.
I was surprised to find that all three of us had a lump in our throats as we came to the close of our book, with the death of Great Grandfather Ezra Brown. Once again, Holling Clancy Holling does his thing! Poetic, descriptive and engaging; his ability to show and tell a century or more of history, in a tale that grips children and adults alike, is spectacular!
Every time we read, the children made their own illustrations so now they have their own version of ‘Seabird’.
Ria especially liked the “connection” of the ivory sea-bird and the ivory gull; the “growing change” (progression?) from whaling ship to ocean liner to airplane.
Brandon’s favorite parts were the first appearance of the ivory sea-gull, the sea storms and the ‘doldrums’ (no surprise)!
This is Ria’s version of Hollings illustration – Ezra making his beloved seabird.
Brandon’s impression of whaling was quite personalized. He does not approve of whaling, and as you can tell was most sympathetic to the whale!
I thought Ria did a great job on her drawing of the whales.
What vivid communication of geography, engineering and sea faring life! I absolutely believe in “living books”!
Other books by Holling C. Holling that we’ve read and loved are Paddle to the Sea, Pagoo, and Minn of the Mississippi
Just saw this post! I cannot believe their drawings. Yes Holling’s books are awesome.
Going to start Seabird soon. Thanks for the awesome ideas i can now pinch. 😉
Love their drawings! Artists in the making, can’t believe how good they are! ‘Living books’ and ‘homeschooling’ wow what a combo! Thanks for the list of books you read. Can you blog of books like that? Even short posts like this. It really helps!
Thanks, Lynn! In her writings, Catherine Levison advises home schooling mothers to only take up living books that we can connect with. I had become victim of forcing myself to trudge through a book (that did nothing for me) just because it was on the curriculum list! Now that I have had the courage to break from this – it has brought a sense of true, enjoyable learning to our school days. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?!