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Mariana and the Merchild: A Folk Tale from Chile
Old Mariana longs for friendship, but she is feared by the village children and fearful of the hungry sea-wolves that hide in the sea-caves near her hut. When one day Mariana finds a Merchild inside a crab shell her whole life changes - but she knows that one day, when the sea is calm again, the Merchild s mother will come to take her daughter back.
A memorable story of unconditional love, this poetic retelling of a traditional South American folk tale beautifully conveys the joy that may come if you open your heart to what you cannot keep.
A memorable story of unconditional love, this poetic retelling of a traditional South American folk tale beautifully conveys the joy that may come if you open your heart to what you cannot keep.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 5, 2020
A lonely old woman named Mariana, living by herself in a tiny seaside hut, is given a very special gift in this traditional Chilean tale, gracefully retold by Caroline Pitcher, and beautifully illustrated by Jackie Morris. Longing for company, but seemingly unable to befriend the local village children; loving the sea, but fearful of the howling sea-wolves who would emerge during stormy weather, Mariana spent her days alone. Until the morning, that is, that she found a lovely little red-haired merchild washed up on shore, and - with the mother Sea Spirit's permission - became its foster-mother. Mariana loved the merchild more than anything in the world, and took great joy in caring for her, although she knew that one day her charge must return to the sea. Would she be more alone than ever, when that day came, or would the coming of the merchild change Mariana's life in a more permanent way...?
Taken from Brenda Hughes' Folk Tales from Chile , this wonderful story addresses so many important themes - childless women, and how they are perceived in society; the elderly, and how they interact with the young; our relationship to the natural world, and how we both depend upon it for our very lives, and are vulnerable to its extremes - in an oblique, rather than didactic fashion. The story itself is quite appealing - who doesn't love the idea of discovering a magical being, and befriending it - and the illustrations are gorgeous! Jackie Morris - whose Tell Me a Dragon is likewise beautiful - has a style that seems ideally suited for fantastic tales. Highly recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, mermaid lovers, and Jackie Morris fans!
Taken from Brenda Hughes' Folk Tales from Chile , this wonderful story addresses so many important themes - childless women, and how they are perceived in society; the elderly, and how they interact with the young; our relationship to the natural world, and how we both depend upon it for our very lives, and are vulnerable to its extremes - in an oblique, rather than didactic fashion. The story itself is quite appealing - who doesn't love the idea of discovering a magical being, and befriending it - and the illustrations are gorgeous! Jackie Morris - whose Tell Me a Dragon is likewise beautiful - has a style that seems ideally suited for fantastic tales. Highly recommended to all young folklore enthusiasts, mermaid lovers, and Jackie Morris fans!
August 12, 2015
My six-year-old son picked this book out from the library yesterday on his own. He said it was like The Happy Prince. I didn't know what he was talking about because The Happy Prince is set in Europe and this is a folk tale from Chile, and the stories seemed quite different.
As I was reading this book to my son tonight, he pulled The Happy Prince from the shelf and said, "Look at the eyes. They are the same." And he was right. The style of illustration is similar, but slightly different, but the eyes, especially the sad eyes, look very much the same. And, as I read the book, I realized that there were more similarities between the two book than just the artwork. And they both made me cry.
As I was reading this book to my son tonight, he pulled The Happy Prince from the shelf and said, "Look at the eyes. They are the same." And he was right. The style of illustration is similar, but slightly different, but the eyes, especially the sad eyes, look very much the same. And, as I read the book, I realized that there were more similarities between the two book than just the artwork. And they both made me cry.
November 30, 2022
Beautiful beautiful prose and illustrations.
February 20, 2020
Thought it was sad, because the whole way through there was that thought: she's going to have to return the merchild back to her parents.
Single mom
adoption
Temporary happiness
fulfilment in helping/looking after others
If you love people, one needs to let them go for their own good.
Perhaps can be seen as selfish to keep a child/person to a home to keep the parent company and consequently give the child narrow existence and restrict them from wider experience/exploring the wider world.
Single mom
adoption
Temporary happiness
fulfilment in helping/looking after others
If you love people, one needs to let them go for their own good.
Perhaps can be seen as selfish to keep a child/person to a home to keep the parent company and consequently give the child narrow existence and restrict them from wider experience/exploring the wider world.
June 14, 2020
This magical book is packed with vivid imagery and lyrical figurative language. The colors have so much depth and movement, and the illustrator masterfully plays with value and saturation to shift the mood from page to page while maintaining a unified style. The story is a standard folktale about an elderly childless woman getting to care for a magical child temporarily. But the plot almost feels incidental, like it's just a vehicle for sharing these beautiful words and images.
I had so much trouble finding information about this story's origins. Finally, I found another version of the story under the title "The Pincoya's Daughter" in Brenda Hughes and Dick de Wilde's collection "Folktales from Chile." Searching for "The Pincoya's Daughter" was much more fruitful, and I found a lot of information about the story's connections to Chiloean mythology. It seems that Pitcher's version is fairly faithful to the original, but she added the name Mariana and the part about the village children.
I had so much trouble finding information about this story's origins. Finally, I found another version of the story under the title "The Pincoya's Daughter" in Brenda Hughes and Dick de Wilde's collection "Folktales from Chile." Searching for "The Pincoya's Daughter" was much more fruitful, and I found a lot of information about the story's connections to Chiloean mythology. It seems that Pitcher's version is fairly faithful to the original, but she added the name Mariana and the part about the village children.
January 1, 2021
Marvelous art and an enchanting story. I particularly look to children's books for hope and timeless tales. In this beautifully illustrated version, Mariana longs for the company of children and is eventually given a merchild to raise, but not keep. You can see where this is going, yet it does so gently, and with the grace of an excellent tale it seamlessly enfolds loss with love, taking with giving.
May 24, 2017
This was such a beautifully illustrated book. It was interesting to see a mermaid tale from a South American country, too.
July 16, 2021
This story is bittersweet with beautiful illustrations.
November 25, 2021
One reason I was attracted to this book is because it is a folk tale, and I love reading folk tales. I had never heard of this one. The story was great and so were the illustrations.
October 17, 2022
A beautiful book!
September 30, 2008
An interesting folktale in its own right, but definitely had a South American flavor in its pictures (and some things they had no qualms about displaying). It wasn't a huge surprise, as I'd heard plenty of stories from friends and brothers who served missions in South America. But I don't think I can pass that off in a story time. Perhaps I can book talk it, but....
December 20, 2008
Wow! This is awesome! Gorgeous art! (I just thought one thing was weird: how the mermaid's hair stuck straight out behind her in the air. If you just flip thought the book, you'll know exactly what I mean!) Samuel (5) spent a long time drinking in all the details in the beautiful art and the unusual story it tells.
August 26, 2010
This was a beautiful story about a lonely woman who lived on the sea. The children were afraid of her until one day in a storm a merchild is washed ashore and she has a child to love. It is so beautifully illustrated and the detail is gorgeous. I want to read more of her books and see more of the illustrator's work. Beautiful.
July 24, 2012
A retold Chilean folk tale that is as heart-breaking and heart-warming as Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid, but in a new way. Motherly love shines brilliantly through this story of an older woman who once lived a very solitary life. The illustrations are so beautiful I want to cover my walls with them!
January 2, 2013
I think this is a decent fantasy book for students k-2. This book could be used to branch into other subject like what scares them, and lessons that they've learned in life. It wouldn't be my top pick because it seems to lack direction unless you give the students something to contemplate before reading it.
October 30, 2022
Beautiful folk tale retelling! I had never heard this story before, but it really stuck with me. The illustrations are so lovely, and it's refreshing to read a story about a community welcoming and sharing knowledge of the magical without trying to capture or tame it.
June 21, 2010
This was a beautiful folktale beautifully illustrated. I especially like Jackie Morris' illustration of the "sea wolves"--waves that end in wolves' heads. Charming, and highly recommended!
December 11, 2010
Beautiful story.
April 3, 2013
Really great book, I got it as a gift for my birthday probably 10 years ago and it is still a favorite in my collection
July 29, 2013
I love folk tales! Jackie Morris has provided beautifully illustrations! A must for all elementary libraries!
May 18, 2015
Really beautiful illustrations! I liked the gentle story.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews