The Animal Family

Vivid imagery, literary style almost too beautiful, ridiculously fictional yet somehow convincing concept, and wholesome characters. It has become the perfect read-aloud for my two young boys and one of my favorite books to date.

This is a beautiful story of a lone woodsman who befriends a curious mermaid before long they become a family of two. A bear is added to their family and the family continues to grow. The most pleasing aspect of this book is the characters. They are written without pretense, they are not contrived, they are real and wonderful. Upon conclusion of the first chapter my 3-year-old proclaimed, "this is my favorite story ever." My seven year old has enjoyed it for years - as have I.

The day after I turned eight years old, my family moved into a house next door to the Golden Gate Valley Branch public library in San Francisco. I lived there for the next nine years exactly, moving out on my 17th birthday, and spent six days a week in the library next door (except for that brief period when I was banned for having 77 overdue books, and had to work off my fines before they'd let me back in). I'd have been in there seven days a week except they were closed on Sunday, which has ever since been my least favorite day of the week. There were several children's librarians there during the years I lived next door, and they all took an interest in me as I was such a voracious reader. One gave me a copy of The Animal Family as a birthday present one year, and it immediately became my favorite book. This story is so simply told, yet so beautiful that it has stayed with me all my life (30 years and counting since I first read it). Before the internet came along, I made it a point to locate used copies through the booksellers' network, and kept several copies on hand so that I could give them away whenever I met a special child who I thought would appreciate it. You can read the other reviews if you want to know the story line... nothing can do it justice, however, except just reading the book. When you start, you won't want the story to end, and when it does, you will be sad that things the world - families and relationships - aren't really as beautiful, simple and loving as they are in the book. This is an absolute MUST READ for any child. Or adult.

A librarian gave me a copy of The Animal Family as a birthday present one year, and it immediately became my favorite book. This story is so simply told, yet so beautiful that it has stayed with me all my life (30 years and counting since I first read it). I keep several copies of it so that I can give them away whenever I meet a special child who I think would appreciate it. You can read the other reviews if you want to know the story line... nothing can do it justice, however, except just reading it. When you start, you won't want the story to end, and when it does, you will be sad that the world - and relationships - aren't really as beautiful as they are in the book. This is an absolute MUST READ for any child. Or adult.

This wonderful, dreamy story of a shipwrecked man, a mermaid, and the numerous additions to their family makes excellent bedtime reading for children. While I enjoyed hearing it that way thirty years ago, it is probably even more apt in today's world of blended families. Each chapter is essentially a complete story, which parents will appreciate, not having to battle over whether or not to pursue the cliffhanger into the next chapter. Maurice Sendak's ink drawings are suggestive, and scene-setting, rather than explicit renderings of the characters, inviting children to participate in imagining the world inhabited by the characters. Randall Jarrell describes the natural beauty and deep emotional connection between the characters as only a practiced poet can.

I am so pleased to have found this book. I was never read this book nor had I ever heard of it. A pity! It is beautiful! Now that I have it, though, I will place it on the treasured books shelf as well as read it to my daughter. At least she will be exposed to this at an earlier age than I. Well-written children's literature is a blessing...for a child and for the child in the adult. I could subsist on this type of writing for the rest of my life.