صديق الفقمة

by Michael Foreman, Majdi Shomali (Translator), مؤسسة تامر للتعليم المجتمعي (Publisher )

يتحدث عن علاقة طفل بجده وبالبحر وكيف نشأت علاقة بين الطفل والفقمة
التي علمته ركوب الأمواج.

It is a story about a disabled child and his grandfather and their relationship to the sea and the surfing seal.

Genres: Picture Books, Disability, Animals

Paperback

First published May 16, 1996

About the author

Michael has worked on magazines, book jackets, animated films, TV adverts, and even for the police, sketching criminals described by witnesses. As well as illustrating many of his own books, Michael has illustrated over a hundred books for authors such as Shakespeare, J. M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Michael has travelled widely - to Africa, Japan, the Arctic Circle, China and Malaysia, the Himalayas, Siberia and New Zealand - to research his books. "I do a lot of research when I'm travelling - I find it thrilling to discover the particular 'art' of different landscapes and work them into a book. But I find I have to travel by myself, otherwise I'm constantly getting involved in other people's impressions of a place... I try to be invisible when I'm travelling, so I tend to listen in on conversations rather than participate in them - I just want to look and draw."

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely story about a young boy who watches a seal pup throughout the seasons and as the pup grows up the boy swims with it in the sea. The seal even rescues the boy after he was so intent on watching the seal whilst he was surfing that he got knocked off the board and hit a rock. The book goes through the seasons over a couple of years and shows the life cycle of the seal. It could be read aloud as a class story or used to talk about habitats, adaptation such as camouflage and seasons. I really enjoyed this book and it’s one of my favourite picture books. It’s accompanied by colourful painted illustrations. It also has the main character in a wheelchair which shows inclusion and disability and how he can still do the activities he wants such as surfing by using an adapted board. It shows the wildlife which can be found around the UK, which relates to geography and the study of coastal environments. It could be enjoyed by children of any age.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fofinho e as ilustrações ão lindas!

[Ashley Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keywords: disability, death, timeline

Seal Surfer is a story of a grandfather and grandson witnessing the birth of a seal pup. As the seasons change, the young boy takes surfing lessons and is injured and the young seal comes to his rescue. Later in the story the boy comes to watch the seals alone and then again with some friends. As he gets older he continues to surf with the seal.

The setting was outstanding in this book. The description of the season was clear and set the mood for that page of the story. There is a small mention/ or not mention of the grandfather no longer coming to see the seals; implying death, which the reader can imply the many seasons that have gone by.

I may use this book in my future classroom to teach timeline and how the story WAS told season by season, but how the seasons may have been different years and not chronologically.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- This is a sweet, thoughtful story of a child who observes and befriends a seal--and how their bond ends up saving the boy's life. SEAL SURFER is an example of a book that features a child with a disability, but this is not the main focus of the story and it goes unremarked upon in the text. Other themes include the passage of time, change, and history.

Veg*n parents note: Humane families will find the bond between the child, his grandfather, and the seal family touching, but will want to be aware that both the boy and his grandfather are fishermen and references to this are present throughout the text.

[C Exley Books (Cassandra) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this with my five year old nephew and five year old son. My nephew got this book from his school library.

All questions answered by my son (Nicholas) and nephew (Chase).

Do you like this book?
Nicholas said "Yep"
Chase said "Yes"

What do you think of the cover?
Nicholas said "Cool"
Chase said "Real Cool"

Do you want me to read it again?
Nicholas said "Yes"
Chase said "No"

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet

[Somer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adored this story!

[Jennifer Fannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book because unlike other typical children's books that have obvious messages and narratives. Seal Surfer is about a young boy and his grandfather who go love the ocean They go to the sea where one afternoon he witnesses a seal giving birth to a baby seal. The boy swims alongside the seal waiting together to surf through good waves. The boy relies on the seal when he lands himself into a dangerous situation.
I feel that this book would be a good way of getting children to share their interpretations of the story which would require more than ne read. You need to look carefully at the pictures to see that the main character has a disability. He is in a wheelchair and in fact has adapted surfboard. I feel this would be good for children in the primary classroom setting because it brings the idea of making the impossible, possible. I feel it would give comfort to children who may have a physical disability to know that they can enjoy sports too.
Furthermore I think this book could be used in an inclusive classroom and brought into the curriculum subjects. For instance, through PSHE you could teach children about various disabilities. In addition science and geography because of the setting of the story and the birth of new seals. Then this could lead into religion of new beginning through the birth of the seals.

[Christopher Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book recounts the story of a young boy and his grandfather who go surfing at the beach whilst making seal friends. Eventually the boy lands in danger and relies on the seal for survival.
What I love most about this book is that the fact that the child is in a wheelchair with an adapted surfboard is hardly noticeable and I personally didn't notice until the end.
The inclusive outcomes of this book teach all
Children that having a physically disability doesn't necessarily stop you from experiencing exciting times such as surfing. I believe the beautiful illustrations in this book really help with engaging the readers of this book in a meaningful manner.
This book could be used at most primary ages to introduce children to the concept of physical disabilities ready to welcome a new child to the class who may have a physical condition.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delicate and sentimental picture book about surfing with seals, featuring (as not many books do) a disabled boy as its main character - although this is not mentioned or brought attention to at any point, regularising and normalising having a protagonist with a disability.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars I love the pictures in this book. You can almost feel the the ocean spray and hear the crashing of the waves.
I love the story of the seals. A nice book and good story!

[Stef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outro livro nostálgico. Um dos primeiros livros que li com personagem PcD.