Oliver and the Seawigs

Product Information

I didn't not like it. I could easily say I liked it well enough. But you know how there are certain books that you read and get excited about and just can't wait to talk about? This wasn't that kind of book for me. While there was not one thing about the book that I didn't like, I just didn't find myself loving it. I don't know why readers feel, in some ways, obligated to love everything they read. But Oliver's peaceful life at Deepwater Bay is soon interrupted when his parents mysteriously disappear. Teaming up with some unusual new friends - a grumpy albatross, a short-sighted mermaid, and a friendly island called Cliff - Oliver sets out to rescue them. But first he must defeat the evil Stacey De Lacey and his pesky army of sea monkeys... Kuinka vaeltavat saaret ja meriperuukit liittyvätkään toisiinsa? Saako likinäköinen Iiris silmälasit? Ja pystyykö tutkimusmatkailija koskaan asettumaan todella aloilleen? Philip Reeve’s Oliver and the Seawigs is an endearingly idiosyncratic tale that, together with the whimsical three-color illustrations of Sarah McIntyre, will capture the imaginations of intermediate readers ready to venture out from early chapter books into more challenging waters. (Since this is the start of a series, further fantastical journeys await! Next up: Cakes in Space !) I liked the characters. I liked Oliver Crisp. I liked the wandering albatross, Mr. Culpeper. I liked the near-sighted mermaid, Iris. I liked the island, Cliff. I liked how they met and became friends. You can certainly see this is a unique story.

My daughter is having trouble with the way reading is taught at her school. One method is taught there, while I taught her how to read before she started school using another method. This has caused a lot of confusion and some heavy self esteem issues for her. She doesn't feel "as smart" as the other kids because of her reading. This was an incredibly adorable book. When I first got invited to read this book, I had no idea what it was about. I saw the title, cover, and that it was middle grade, and said yep I'll give it a shot. I'm really glad I did. Because even though sea-wigs are not some type of fluffy animal, they are still a very cute and amusing concept. Tapahtumat käynnistyvät, kun Oliver ja hänen tutkimusmatkailijavanhempansa päättävät asettua aloilleen. Paha kyllä, heidän talonsa sijaitsee poukamassa, johon on kokoontunut joukko vaeltelevia saaria. Vaeltelevia, kartoittamattomia saaria! Pian vanhemmat ovat jo tiessään yhden saaren mukana ja Oliver päättää seurata heitä toisella, sillä eihän aloilleen asettuminen ilman vanhempia tuntuu haljulta. Stacey de Lacey’s face turned a dark shade of red. “Silence!” he shouted. “Stacey is one of those names that can be for a boy or a girl! Like Hilary! Or Leslie!”

Vern and Lettuce

Review Copy Courtesy of Random House for Young Readers (THANK YOU!!!). Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof. The story is about Oliver Crisp, the son of two intrepid explorers who met on top of Mount Everest and haven't stopped exploring since. Naturally, Oliver wishes they could just live at home instead – home being the most exotic place imaginable to someone born and raised as an explorer. However, when his parents mysteriously vanish, Oliver is plunged into an adventure that takes him to a hidden sea world. Here he befriends a myopic mermaid, a talkative albatross, and a shy Rambling Isle. (Rambling Isles are giant stone beings who wander the oceans; they're often mistaken for islands, for they collect flotsam and wear it proudly on their heads, calling these collections "seawigs".) With a little help from his friends, Oliver navigates this acquatic realm, and finds his way to a resolution that cleverly reconciles home with exploration. The wander in search of items for Cliff's sea wig so that Cliff can win the sea-wig competition and hopefully find Oliver's parents.

As he searches for his parents, Oliver runs into a timid rambling Island he names Cliff; the overbearing albatross living in Cliff’s shore, Mr. Culpeper; and a quirky mermaid on her way to the optical store, Iris. Cliff swears to help Oliver find his parents if they could help him win the Seawigs Contest. Every year, different rambling islands meet in The Hallowed Shallows to see who acquired the best seawig ornaments in their rambling. Everything was going smoothly when the island Thrlstone turned up. With a boy named Stacey de Lacey and his army of sea monkeys.For as long as he can remember, Oliver has been travelling the world, having exciting adventures with his explorer parents. But he's actually quite pleased when they realise they are no longer any blank spaces left on the map to explore, and decide to head home to Deepwater Bay, where Oliver can have his own bedroom and go to school. I’m half-tempted to review this with Near-sighted mermaid! Talking Islands! Sarcastic Weeds! SEA MONKEYS! and leave it at that. Because really, if those things wouldn’t perk your interest then I cannot do much else. Also, I’m feeling a little out of my element critiquing a children’s book that is a straightforward adventure story with none of the subtext and metaphors where a broken mirror symbolises unfulfilled dreams and what-not. Conveys big truths while being witty and playful...clever and moving’ - The Sunday Times on Fever Crumb Ja. Sargassomeren sijaan täältä löytyy Sarkasmimeri. Se muistuttaa kovasti Sargassomerta, mutta sen levillä on ikävä tapa letkautella kuivakanilkeästi ohikulkijoille..

We read together everyday and then again at bedtime. She started reading Oliver and the Seawigs during her afternoon reading time. She read longer than I require her to...she didn't want to stop! YAY! When bedtime came that night, she read...Oliver and the Seawigs and finished it. This might not seem like a big deal to us, or even compared to another child's abilities. But watching her struggle during the past school year and seeing her self esteem slip a little more each day was excruciating. Then to see her get excited over a book was thrilling. And even more...she finished it in a day! We had an impromptu party with popcorn and the works to celebrate. No heroic quest is complete without obstacles. Just as Odysseus braved Sylla and Charybdis, Oliver stands tall against the insults of Sarcastic Seaweed and outlasts a swarming tide of sea monkeys. And, with the help of his new friends, the daring and brave Oliver confronts the evil giant island, The Thurlstone, and Stacey de Lacey, the piratical bully with a girlish name. Englantilainen Philip Reeve on murtautunut mainioilla teoksillaan omien suosikkieni joukkoon lasten- ja nuortenkirjallisuuden sarjassa, ja niinpä päätin tarttua myös miehen uusimpien suomennosten joukkoon kuuluvaan kirjaan "Oliver ja meriperuukit" (Aurinko, 2017). But the bare bones of the story hardly do justice to the experience of reading this book. Its appeal lies in its details, which show an irrepressible imagination, much like that of a wide-eyed child explorer who can't help looking at the world and wondering "what if … ?" The Rambling Isles are a fabulous creation, and while the concept strongly recalls the ambulant cities of Mortal Engines, it's played in a lighter key here. Comedy, puns and wordplay are threaded through the story, as when Oliver names the Rambling Isle "Cliff".

About Philip Reeve

The book is about a boy, Oliver, who grows up with parents who are adventurers. He's excited because they've finally adventured the world enough to have seen all they wanted to see, and are about to settle down and live in a house (with beds!) and he can finally go to school (for the first time). Oliver's pretty darn excited when they arrive. But, as his parents go off to explore the surrounding islands, something happens. They don't return. Oliver goes in search of them and, as you can imagine, an adventure ensues. Happily, Oliver and his motley band of outcasts discover that even their perceived weaknesses can be strengths. And that there is no better prize than good friends. In addition to finding his parents, Oliver is out to help poor Cliff win The Night of the Seawigs, a competition between the Rambling Isles who wander the seas collecting interesting objects to wear like crowns, or rather, wigs atop their heads. No, this is a completely different place," said Iris. "It's called the Sarcastic Sea, and sailors fear it because the weed keeps making horrid, hurtful comments about them.'" Vanhemmat havaitsevat kuitenkin riemukseen lähistölle ilmestyneen saaria, ja lähtevät niitä tutkimaan - ja jäävät sille tielleen. Nyt Oliverin on lähdettävä pelastusretkelle, jonka aikana hän joutuu mitä mielikuvituksellisimpaan seikkailuun, jossa häntä auttavat äreä albatrossi, likinäköinen merenneito Iiris ja saari nimeltä Kari.