Seagull Sam

August 1, 2007
PreS-Gr 2-Sam wants to fly a kite with his older brother and sister, but they say he is too small and that he might get hurt. Disappointed, he chases the seagulls in his backyard and pretends to fly in and out and through the hanging laundry. He puts on a big white shirt to look like the birds and suddenly the wind billows through it and lifts him up into the airhe is really flying! As he mimics the seagulls' movements, he finds himself soaring across the sky, looking at the shoreline and town far below. When he glides to a perfect smooth landing at the feet of his siblings, they want to know how he did it. He tells them, "'I'm sorry].But you are too big.'" This is a well-told story, albeit a bit long, and the watercolor illustrations of the sea and landscape are picturesque. However Sam's age and size lack consistency, and occasionally the characters are awkwardly posed on the pages. Nevertheless, kids may overlook these quibbles and simply enjoy Sam's flight of fancy."Wanda Meyers-Hines, Loudoun County Public Schools, Ashburn, VA"

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