The Serpent Came to Gloucester
By Matthew Tobin Anderson
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
In beautiful poetic narrative, a story based on true experiences comes to life on these pages. Gloucester (pronounced ˈglɒstɚ), a small fishing village in 1817 Massachusetts, is initially terrorized by the appearance of a frolicking serpent in the deep water of the sea. Every day for an entire summer the whole village witnesses the serpent, gradually growing fond of the cavorting beast until it disappears into the deep for the winter.
Narrated by a small boy, the poem takes a turn when men set out the following summer to capture the serpent. For several pages, my boys clung to my arms in fear- for how could a serpent that "frolics" be bad? Silently cheering for the serpent to escape, we breathed a sigh of relief when the men come away with only a large mackerel, and the serpent is free to frolic again.
This is a lovely book, with gorgeous illustrations, and had one of our favorite things tucked in the back- a page relating the true story of the sightings back in 1817.
We have four inches of new snow this morning... I'm looking forward to curling up with this week's library books... and we'll definitely be reading this one again!
Happy Reading! (If you posted several reviews over the past month, would you be so kind as to link to all of them so that we may read your lovely reviews and add to our library lists? Thank you!)
Narrated by a small boy, the poem takes a turn when men set out the following summer to capture the serpent. For several pages, my boys clung to my arms in fear- for how could a serpent that "frolics" be bad? Silently cheering for the serpent to escape, we breathed a sigh of relief when the men come away with only a large mackerel, and the serpent is free to frolic again.
This is a lovely book, with gorgeous illustrations, and had one of our favorite things tucked in the back- a page relating the true story of the sightings back in 1817.
We have four inches of new snow this morning... I'm looking forward to curling up with this week's library books... and we'll definitely be reading this one again!
Happy Reading! (If you posted several reviews over the past month, would you be so kind as to link to all of them so that we may read your lovely reviews and add to our library lists? Thank you!)
8 fellow travelers shared:
Hi Elise~
Wow! My curiosity is piqued! This sounds like a great book. Thank you for reviewing this week! :)
~Anna
Sounds exciting. I'll have to look for this at the library tomorrow when I go for story time. If it appears too old for Ella right now, I'll just add it to my list of ones to check out in a few years. :-)
I did read The Quiltmaker's Gift to her-that was a bit long for her, but she was fascinated enough by the drawings that she made it to the end. That one definitely impacted me more than her right now-what a great read!
I'm so excited Children's Book Monday is back!
Snow and words---don't you think they go together like hand in glove?
Thank you, Elise...
Sending love...
Ann
Since I started doing this all during Lent, I have quite a few. I actually have more than I put up, but I did'nt want to hog all the Mr. Linky's. Thanks! And congrats on the pregnancy!
Glad you got moved in and congrats on your pregnancy!Sounds like a great book!
Hi, I found you through Rainy Day Diamonds. I posted a link to my review of several books -- I generally do them in clumps. I hope that is OK; if not, please remove it from the Mr. Linky.
I do love children's books, and my daughter loves them as well.
Thanks for commenting on my post and for the recommendation of "Baby Danced the Polka." We did check that one out from the library a while ago -- and greatly enjoyed it here, too. :)
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