Seabird

Ezra Brown, a fourteen-year-old ship’s boy, was standing watch in the crow’s nest during a snowstorm when he first saw the white seabird. Suddenly she flew straight upward, and Ezra quickly realized that his whaling ship was heading straight for an iceberg! The ship was saved, and later, from two Walrus tusks he’d traded with an Eskimo for, Ezra carved Seabird. He set her on a limber piece of baleen so the bird could hover in the air around him as he completed his chores on the ship.

Seabird became the mascot for four generations of seafarers: aboard a whaler, a clipper ship, a steamship, and finally an airplane. The story takes a unique look at America’s seafaring history through the eyes of a carved bird and her special owners. It is full of beautiful, full-page paintings as well as fascinating and informative black-and-white drawings that ring the text. Recommended for ages 8 to 12. A 1949 Newbery Honor book.