The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly is a unique children’s books by Luis Sepulveda. Since I love this great Chilean author, I’m reading whatever he wrote, of course, this children’s book was no exception. However, when I read it, I understood that this is more than just a children’s book. I think those who want to remember certain things should seriously read it.
Sepulveda covers different themes throughout the book. Since he was a member and activist of Greenpeace, he talks about environmental issues while also addressing the issue of “difference”. It conveys to the children how people pollute the environment, especially the sea, through the eyes of seagulls and cats. Especially when one of the seagulls dips in oil and dies, I lost it and cursed the sea pollution for about an hour. I do not know what could be better than such impressive books to evoke the love of the environment in children.
The most important message of the book is diversity/difference. Cats learn to love and respect what is different from them throughout the book. While it is effortless to understand and love things similar to us, it can be not easy to accept those who are different from us in the same way. This book is one of the most significant children’s books that can break this challenge. Lucky, the baby seagull has to rely on cats to learn to fly, while cats have to rely on a person to teach Lucky to fly. This book, with its funny elements and sweet characters, has a heart and soul. Everyone should read this book every single year. Enjoy!
The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly
A Cat, A Seagull, An Impossible Task…Caught up in an oil spill, a dying seagull scrambles ashore to lay her final egg and lands on a balcony, where she meets Zorba, a big black cat from the port of Hamburg. The cat promises the seagull to look after the egg, not to eat the chick once it’s hatched and – most difficult of all – to teach the baby gull to fly. Will Zorba and his feline friends honour the promise and give Lucky, the adopted little seagull, the strength to discover her true nature?
A moving, uplifting and life-enhancing story with a strong environmental theme, Luis Sepulveda’s instant children’s classic has been a worldwide best-seller and is presented here with new drawings by acclaimed illustrator Satoshi Kitamura.
Luis Sepúlveda
Luis Sepúlveda Calfucura was a Chilean writer and journalist. A communist militant and fervent opponent of Augusto Pinochet’s regime. He was in prison and torture by the military dictatorship during the 1970s.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
