Call of the Selkie

by Jean Bennett

Ryan's parents aren't getting on and, sadly, he isn't sure if they ever will. His one comfort is finding a mother seal and her pup, which Ryan names Selkie, in a hidden bay. Ryan spends the summer with his new "friends", and becomes accepted by Selkie. But the happy days with the seals may soon come to an end with the arrival of a mysterious fisherman.

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jean Bennett, a writer and journalist, and mother of six children, has been passionate about writing since she was a young child. A teacher inspired her to find a talent and use it, and Jean discovered and put to use her ability to write. She has in turn spent much of her adult life encouraging young writers. Since then, over 100,000 copies of The Writing Book have been published and The Call of the Selkie was included in the 1999 New Zealand Children's Book Foundation Notable Book List. She also has other books and readers published by educational publishing companies both in New Zealand and overseas and has written features for New Zealand magazines including Treasures and Kiwikids.

Jean has also produced educational resource kits for the Bay of Plenty Times and been their Newspapers-in-Education Coordinator for four years. Her stories have been broadcast on Once upon a Twice, Grampa's Place and EARS, and two stories have been commissioned for television.

In 1995 Jean visited schools in the Auckland region on the Storylines Festival Story Bus Tour. She was also an author touring on the Zespri 2000 Lifestyles Festival Story Bus. Jean was awarded life membership of the Bay of Plenty Children's Literature Association in 2001 for her contribution to their activities and has also been the recipient of a Creative NZ children's authors grant and a QEII Arts Council children's author's project grant. Jean has been a member of the Writers-In-Schools scheme for over 15 years. Jean Bennett was presented with the Storylines Betty Gilderdale Award for services to children's literature in 2003.

Reviews

[SBC · Rating 2 out of 5]

A realist story about a teenage boy who befriends two fur seals and tries to protect the pup when a fisherman hunts them for their skins. The selkie wife legend is told during the story, and is the origin of the pup's name, Selkie, but there is no supernatural quality to the narrative. Rather, the stealing of the selkie wife's skin becomes a metaphor for the realist slaughtering of seals for their fur.