Free The Boy Who Held Back The Sea (Picture Puffin Books) Ebooks Online
Jan had never done anything more heroic than shout for the guard because he'd imagined he'd seen a sea serpent. But when Jan discovered water trickling through a desolate stretch of the dike that protected his low-lying village, he knew he had to act fast.
Lexile Measure: 960L (What's this?)
Series: Picture Puffin Books
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0140546138
ISBN-13: 978-0140546132
Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 0.1 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #142,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #100 in Books > Children's Books > Geography & Cultures > Explore the World > Europe
Age Range: 3 - 5 years
Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten
This book tells a version of the story of the little Dutch boy who holds back the sea with his finger. In this version, the boy is a bit naughty. He gets to skip church by offering to carry a pie to blind man, but then eats the pie himself instead of delivering it. When he finds the leaky dike, nobody believes him because he is known to be such a troublemaker. As a result, he ends up spending the night alone by the dike and has to endure a raging storm before he and the dike are rescued. The book is a little scary but it's a good engaging story. The pictures are all done in the style of the Dutch Masters. It has about 1000 words.
Nice book but a very different story from Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates. This boy is like the little boy who cried wolf. Not a noble character.Try- The Hole in the Dike by Norma B. Green or The Little Dutch Boy: A Tale of Perseverance by Sarah Toast.
My husband lived in the Netherlands for two years, so we've seen a few pictures and heard a few stories. When we checked this book out through the library, I knew we had to have it. The story is simple, and the pictures are amazing and penetrating classics.
Every other page in The Boy Who Held Back the Sea has masterpiece paintings of 17th century Holland. Dramatically dark clouds fill the skies and pour down on the tiny country; bringing the sea level up over the dikes. Jan, the naughty boy at the start of the story, learns that living for his own pleasure can bring pain and even tragedy upon those he loves. By holding back the dike with his hand, he learns the beauty of self-sacrifice for others, and receives respect and praise from his family and neighbors. This picture book is too dramatic for tiny children; it is much more suitable for children about eight years old and up. There are a couple of crude parts that could have improved the book by being left out (the man who rescues Jan is a man of ill-repute--could not he have been a man of valor who is the night-watchman?), but over all it is an entertaining book which has breath-taking artwork and brings to life the ancient children's tale.
Although the pictures in this book were great, the story of the boy who "puts his finger in the dike" has been changed in this version to the point where it lacks any positive character building morals or lessons. I was sadly disappointed to realize that it would be detrimental to read this story to my son because of the portrayal of the boy in this story. If you wish your child to learn morals try the Hive of Busy Bee books, or the Stories with the Millers. Don't waste your money on this one.
I had this book as a child and appreciated it then for the story and the pictures. But the illustrations hold great permanent value. I cam back to them again as a teenager and as an adult. It's gorgeously illustrated. Buy it for a kid you know or buy it for yourself!
This is a classic story about a boy who held back the sea (and cried wolf more than once). Very sweet story, incredible illustrations/paintings. The detail in the illustrations have our daughter staring at each page, taking in every detail and giving her the full picture of what it would be like to live during that the story's timeframe.
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