هدية من بحر الحلازن

Winklesea #1

by Helen Cresswell, هيلين كرسويل, شفيق مهدي (Translator)

Dan and Mary find the perfect present for their mother in the shop at the seaside, an egg-shaped stone with "A Gift from Winklesea" written on it. One day it hatches and out comes an amazing creature. This book contains a story about the adventures that Dan and Mary have with him.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Helen Cresswell (1934–2005) was an English television scriptwriter and author of more than 100 children's books, best known for comedy and supernatural fiction. Her most popular book series, Lizzie Dripping and The Bagthorpe Saga, were also the basis for television series.

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect little 'taking flight' book for those readers who have newly become independent readers or as a bedtime read, A Gift from Winklesea tells the story of two children whose family trip to the seaside changes their lives forever.
As Mary and Dan think about what present to buy for their mum as a thank you for the trip, they stumble across an egg-shaped stone sat upon a pedestal of cockleshells and agree to buy it. Except it's not a stone at all - it contains something quite remarkable.
A short novel for that younger reader, Cresswell shows again that she does family dramas well. Her balance between rich vocabulary and story mean that the book might be a challenge but it is also engaging, warm and funny. A lovely class read aloud for Year 1-3.

[Alexandra Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only one review for this book so far? Insanity. How can people not want to read about a weird gift shop egg that hatches into a bizarre long necked giraffe seal otter thing that eats chips. This was one of my favourite books as a child and I demanded it be read to me over and over and over. There's a couple of others around The Gift as well so it makes a good little series. Get it for your kids- show them the freaky illustrations straight out of Tim Burton's animal fantasies, and then feed them chips and take them to the seaside to look for eggs.

[Claire (Book Blog Bird) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eight-year-old me's favourite book. It's the story of a brother and sister who go to the seasideona school trip and bring home a souvenir and a half when the stone they buy turns out to be an egg which promptly hatches into a bizarre horse-otter thing.

It's better than I'm making it sound. Honest.

[Tim Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeling nostalgic and picked this up - what a lovely little book, perhaps a little dated but the central story still holds up well for young readers.

[Claire Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of a challenge the prompt was- read a book you enjoyed as a child. It’s as cute as I remember 😊