Gifts from the sea

Kliatt, July, 2003 by Claire Rosser

KINSEY-WARNOCK, Natalie. Gifts from the sea. Random House, Knopf. 112p. illus. c2003. 0-375-82257-7. $14.95.

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This is a brief, illustrated story of a family living off the coast of Maine during the mid- 1800s. After the death of her mother, Quila is alone with her depressed father on the island where they tend the lighthouse. In a storm, a baby girl is washed ashore, and they adopt the child as their own, with little Celia helping to alleviate their grief. Months pass, storms come and go. Then a woman visits them, searching for a place to grieve for her sister, who drowned off the coast. It is discovered that this woman, Margaret, is the aunt of little Celia. but Quila and her father can't imagine giving up the beloved child. Quila even bundles Celia up and rows away with her, thinking to hold on to her that way, but rough waters turn the little boat over and seals come to save the two girls from drowning. Margaret stays with them for six months, and her presence becomes essential to the happiness of them all, including Quila's father, who resolves the dilemma by marrying Margaret and keeping them all together. The w ind, waves, seals, sea glass, and sea birds are part of the story as much as the humans are, and the world on the edge of the sea is captured beautifully by Kinsey-Warnock, who is also the author of The Canada Geese Quilt.