The Ocean Calls
A Haenyeo Mermaid Story
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.
Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The haenyeo dive off the coast of Jeju Island to pluck treasures from the sea--generations of Korean women have done so for centuries. To Dayeon, the haenyeo are as strong and graceful as mermaids. To give her strength, Dayeon eats Grandma's abalone porridge. She practices holding her breath while they do the dishes. And when Grandma suits up for her next dive, Dayeon grabs her suit, flippers, and goggles. A scary memory of the sea keeps Dayeon clinging to the shore, but with Grandma's guidance, Dayeon comes to appreciate the ocean's many gifts.
Tina Cho's The Ocean Calls, with luminous illustrations by muralist Jess X. Snow, is a classic in the making.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grandma is part of an island community of haenyeo South Korean deep-sea divers. She and her fellow divers, all older women, venture without oxygen deep into the ocean to gather abalone, sea urchins, and other treasures. Dayeon, her granddaughter, wants to be a haenyeo ("You're like a treasure-hunting mermaid," she says admiringly), but she's scared. After an earlier attempt at swimming, "water had filled her ears and nose, burned her eyes, and stung her skin." Grandma shows patience and faith as she listens to her granddaughter's anxiety, then responds: "Can't you hear what the waves are saying? They're calling to us to come home." Striking digital artwork by Snow (Black Girl Magic) captures the swirl of the ocean currents, the contrast between the sun's citrus hues and the ocean's blues, and the bounty of sea life. In one spread, Snow shows grandmother and granddaughter heading for the beach as the sun casts shadows behind them that look like mermaid's tails. Sturdy prose by Cho (Rice from Heaven) highlights a segment of Korean society whose women preserve a vibrant tradition of enterprise, stamina, and cooperation, and Grandma shines as a kind of generous real-life superhero. Back matter offers additional information about "Korea's granny mermaids." Ages 5 8.
