Pdf the wee seals pdf

I am from Edinburgh have travelled a lot lived in France Israel Greece London Sussex the far north of Scotland and am now back in Edinburgh with a collie dog a river across the road and two Rowan trees in the garden I always wanted to be a writer but following advice to get a proper job I took myself off to the big city of London when I was just nineteen and trained to be a journalist By 21 I was a journalist on Fleet Street but soon realised this wasn t the kind of writing I wanted to do So off I went round the world having all kinds of adventures sailing yachts sleeping on beaches looking after children working on kibbutz then back to Scotland for adventures looking after children with learning disabilities I am from Edinburgh have travelled a lot lived in France Israel Greece London Sussex the far north of Scotland and am now back in Edinburgh with a collie dog a river across the road and two Rowan trees in the garden I always wanted to be a writer but following advice to get a proper job I took myself off to the big city of London when I was just nineteen and trained to be a journalist By 21 I was a journalist on Fleet Street but soon realised this wasn t the kind of writing I wanted to do So off I went round the world having all kinds of adventures sailing yachts sleeping on beaches looking after children working on kibbutz then back to Scotland for adventures looking after children with learning disabilities then studying speech and drama I became a storyteller drama teacher and voice teacher I did this for a long while which was a great learning for a writer then I remembered my childhood dream to be a writer So I took myself off to university did an MA in creative writing at Sussex University and wrote The Scottish Arts Council sent me up to the far north of Scotland to be a writer in residence I didn t even know where Caithness was but that s where I went and soon realised Scotland wasn t as small as I had thought It s miles away I lived there for five years in a cottage on the beach writing books about the sea and seals and was lucky to win the Kelpies prize 2009 for my first novel Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest I say first novel but actually I had several other novels gathering dust in drawers So since 2007 I have been what you might call a writer And sometimes doing other related things like storytelling and voice teaching. Book the wee seal book I went to Duddingston primary school and Portobello High school where I learnt to touch type speak French a bit of German play squash and spell I suppose I must have learnt a few social skills as there were two and a half thousand of us at Portobello High school I was a child and teenage athlete and I am really glad about that The Commonwealth Games came to Edinburgh when I was about ten and it was very inspiring and I went along to the races with my dad Then I joined the Edinburgh Southern harriers and spent the next five years running and jumping and throwing a discus but mostly running and going off all over Scotland on Saturdays to run up hills cross country I am pretty fit and healthy now and I think that gave me a good boost. The Wee sealmatic When I visit schools with my Magnus Fin novels children often ask what books I read as a child and I usually answer rather embarrassed Mallory Towers I wanted to be that girl in the attic who wrote stories But before that when I was very wee I loved nursery rhymes and like athletics I think they gave me a boost into being a writer I love language and sounds and I remember being really young and loving the sound on my tongue of nursery rhymes like Doctor Foster went to Gloucester or with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes she shall have music where ever she goes site_link Jamie has been watching the wee white seal that lives on the beach At night the wee seal cuddles up to its mother In the morning she goes out to sea and leaves it alone like a strange white stone on the sand One day tourists come and crowd the wee seal but Jamie knows just what to do to protect it until its mother comes back Janis Mackay s lyrical prose tells the story of the tender relationship between the wild baby seal and the young boy who watches over it while Gabby Grant s soft illustrations brilliantly evoke the landscape of the Orkney Islands Ages 3 6 The Wee Seal Picture Kelpies A wee white seal spends his days on the beach below Jamie s cottage in this picture book from Scottish children s author Janis Mackay who has also written the Magnus Fin series of children s fantasy novels His mother who must hunt in the sea for salmon and trout returns to him every evening and they spend their nights together When a group of tourists arrive one day and assume the seal is abandoned frightening him with their intrusive behaviour it falls to Jamie to protect the young animal he has long watched from afar. The wee seal fantasy football Part of Edinburgh based Floris Books Picture Kelpies line intended to highlight and promote picture books with a Scottish theme The Wee Seal is according to the blurb on the rear cover of the book set in the Scottish islands It addresses the important theme of having respect for wildlife of interacting with wild things on their terms and in ways that are beneficial to them rather than seeking to gratify our own curiosity or desire for contact Jamie keeps his distance despite his obvious love for the baby seal and the story encourages us to see that this is the right approach Despite this praiseworthy message and artwork that was quite appealing my favourite scenes involved the seal himself as seen on the cover illustration I wasn t as engaged by The Wee Seal as I d expected to be Perhaps my knowledge of selkie lore which often has a Scottish islands setting had me expecting something a little magical or perhaps I wanted a little insight into how Jamie was feeling but somehow the story just didn t speak to me as I d hoped That said it definitely has appeal and I could easily see it being used in a story hour about the natural world and finding an appreciated audience in young animal lovers Janis Mackay