Against the pomp and pageantry of turbulent seventeenth century England, Elizabeth Goudge weaves the poignant tale of Lucy Walter, the proud and beautiful secret wife of Charles II. From her early childhood in a castle by the sea in Wales and the joys and pangs of childhood, to her tragic estrangement from the king and her death in Paris at the age of twenty-eight, Lucy Walter lived to the full a life of intense joy and equally intense drama. Miss Goudge portrays brilliantly a young love almost too ecstatic to bear. Equally moving is her characterization of Lucy—a spirited woman caught up in the cataclysmic wars and disruptive revolution of a tumultuous era. From London at the time of the Great Fire, to Paris when British royalty fled to the sanctuary of the Louvre, to Brussels and The Hague and a rich panoramic background—a master storyteller traces the life and loves of an extraordinary woman. The Child from the Sea is a superbly colorful and romantic historical novel alive with brilliant cameos and infused with a spiritual essence rare in our times.

A Child of the Sea is the true story of Jimmy Cornell's daughter sailing around the world on the family's small yacht from the age of 7 to 14, based on Doina's diaries, letters and memories. From 1975 to 1981 the Cornell family visited 54 countries, sailed more than 68,000 miles, and travelled about the same distance overland. The story is told from Doina's point of view, although the main part of the book focuses on the family's three-year stay in the Pacific when she is aged between 10 and 13. Child of the Sea is unusual in that it gives a glimpse into a life that most young children couldn't imagine, swimming, diving and playing the days away in deserted anchorages; visiting some of the most beautiful islands in the world; falling in love with the sea in all its ever-changing moods, from balmy trade wind ocean passages to the treacherous breakers that crash onto tropical reefs, and taking a full part in sailing and handling the yacht on passage. The book also tells the story of a girl's coming of age in the South Pacific, understanding different cultures and values, and experiencing at first-hand how people judge each other depending on the colour of their skin - from the time on Easter Island when tourists mistake Doina for a Polynesian girl, to her and her brother's hostile prejudiced reception back in an English school at the end of their journey. What do children need to grow up happy and healthy? Security with their family; an element of risk; freedom to explore the world; openness to other peoples and cultures; closeness with nature and the elements and an appreciation of the environment and our finite resources. The sailing life offers all this and more, and this book captures it all.

This is the vivid memoir of a mid-nineteenth-century girlhood spent mostly on the islands of Lake Michigan and the onshore communities of Manistique, Charlevoix, Traverse City, and Little Traverse (now Harbor Springs), written by a woman who grew up to be a lighthouse keeper on Beaver Island and in Little Traverse. Williams was brought up Catholic by a French-speaking mother and an English-speaking father who was a ship's carpenter for entrepreneurs engaged in the mercantile trade to and from these rapidly developing settlements. Williams depicts cordial, even intimate, relationships between her family and the Indians who lived nearby, and describes the courtship and arranged marriage of an Ottawa chief's daughter who lived with her family for an extended period. The major portion of the book, however, is devoted to her eye-witness recollections of James Jesse Strang's short-lived dissident Mormon monarchy on Beaver Island, amplified by stories she heard from disillusioned followers. Strang was expelled from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after disputing Brigham Young's right to succeed Joseph Smith. Eventually he and his own loyal followers settled on Beaver Island and attracted a stream of new converts; at their demographic peak, the "Strangites" numbered 5,000 strong. Strang saw himself as a prophet and believed the rules he tried to establish were in accord with divine revelations. Williams describes the mounting tensions between Strang's followers and the "gentile" residents who fled the island as Strang's influence grew; incidents connected with Strang's assassination by two former followers; and the ensuing exodus of most Strangites from Beaver Island. She later moved back there with her family, as did many of the earlier inhabitants.

"Against the dramatic Northern Minnesota lakeshore, a son and his father reconnect thirty-five years after the father has survived the tragic wreck of a Great Lakes ore boat."--Back cover.

A Son of the Sea by John Arthur Barry is a wild, shipwreck adventure following a young and lovable captain named Torre and written in an old literary style. Excerpt: "HIT him again, Torre! harder, oh harder, ever so much! Mind! he's got a stone! Oh, the great coward!" Thus shrilled a little girl as she danced, wild with excitement, around two boys, one considerably the stouter and heavier, who were doggedly pummelling each other in a secluded spot of the garden hidden from the house by a thick grove of laurels."

A band of intrepid chickens leave behind the boredom of farm life, joining the crew of the pirate ship Pitiless to seek fortune and glory on the high seas. Led by a grizzled captain into the territory of the Dog Knights, they soon learn what it means to be courageous, merciful, and not seasick quite so much of the time. A whimsical and unexpected adventure tale, Chicken of the Sea originated in the five-year-old mind of Ellison Nguyen, son of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen; father and son committed the story to the page, then enlisted the artistic talents of Caldecott Honor winner Thi Bui and her thirteen-year-old son, Hien Bui-Stafford, to illustrate it. This unique collaboration between two generations of artists and storytellers invites you aboard for adventure, even if you're chicken. Maybe especially if you're chicken.

Discover amazing and fascinating sea creatures in the hole in the bottom of the sea! Based on the traditional cumulative song, each verse introduces a new creature and its place in the food chain, with the shark chasing the eel, who chases the squid, who chases the snail. Enhanced CD includes videso animation and audio singalong.

Winner of CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award A young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather’s grave after lunch and comes home to a simple family dinner with his family, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea. Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Sidewalk Flowers, show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig. With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of Canadian history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a Cape Breton mining town will enthrall children and move adult readers.

A wordless picture book featuring a sandcastle that takes on a life of its own.

Every Sunday, Grandpa waited for me in his room, and I took my place at the foot of the bed. There were days when Grandpa wanted to talk, and days when we sat in silence. Then one day, Grandpa began telling me stories about his life at sea—tales of love and adventure and danger on the ocean waves. And that’s when I learned who my grandpa really was . . .