Ocean-Born Mary

by Lois Lenski

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of Mary Wilson Wallace's birth. Ocean-Born Mary was a real person. She was born in mid-ocean, while her parents, a young Scotch-Irish couple, were voyaging to American in 1720. Shortly after her birth, the ship was captured by pirates. The sight of the new-born babe so moved the pirate captain that he named the baby Mary and allowed the immigrant band to proceed on its voyage unharmed. The child grew up to be called Ocean-Born Mary. Lois Lenski came across this colorful New England legend, traced its historic origins with delight and wrote an absorbing story around this fascinating woman. It is a powerful tale, rich in flavor and humor, and valuable for its true picture of Portsmouth and the surrounding New Hampshire countryside fifty years before the American Revolution. Lenski wrote an afterword, dated 1939, about her research of Mary.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Geography, Historical

388 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Lois Lenore Lenski Covey was an influential American author and illustrator whose work reshaped twentieth-century children’s literature through its combination of artistic skill, documentary realism, and deep empathy for childhood experience. Beginning her publishing career in the late 1920s, she went on to write and illustrate nearly one hundred books, ranging from picture books and historical novels to regional fiction, poetry, songbooks, and literary essays. She is best known for the Mr. Small picture book series, her meticulously researched historical novels, and her groundbreaking Regional books, which portrayed the everyday lives of children across diverse American communities.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorites from childhood. I didn't know this as a child, but I am a direct descendant of Philip Babb, a fisherman, of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Ocean Born Mary was also a real person, although this story of her childhood and her meeting the pirate Philip Babb is legend, not fact. (The real Philip Babb was at the Isles of Shoals in 1651. This story takes place much later.) I read and re-read this many times as a child. The date originally finished is an approximate guess. Read again in 2020. Interesting to see it from an adult perspective now that I know more colonial history.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book when I was a child. I checked it out of the school library numerous times. I searched in vain for an affordable copy for my children, but it has been out of print for many years. Such a great story of an exciting time in the history of the United States. I have been to visit Strawberry Banke, and it was much more meaningful to me for having read Ocean-Born Mary.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read about the legend of Ocean-Born Mary before finding this historical novel about her. I LOVE that story! While the novel doesn't say much about the pirates, it does depict life in a 19th-century seaside port. I wish these old historical novels by Lenski would be reprinted!!

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this story. It's about a ship that gets boarded by pirates. The captain sees the infant and it saves the wole ship. He gives her green silk for her wedding dress and he names her Mary.

[Sama Meshel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid story of a young girl in pre-revolutionary New England

Highly recommend for girls. Provides insight and brings the people to life leading up to the Revolutionary War. Good read.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lois Lenski tells an excellent historical fiction tale. They always feel well-researched. This one was a little long and could use some editing.

[Sydney Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - There are some convo points I’ll list out later.

[Lily! · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ★ - (liked it)