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Mara Bergman is an award-winning children’s writer, poet and editor. She was born in NYC on leap year day and grew up on Long Island, and though she’s lived most of her life in the UK, she’s never lost her accent. Mara has always felt a strong link between poetry and picture books and loves to write both. Her picture books have won numerous awards in the UK and US; Oliver Who Would Not Sleep was a Bookstart choice and appeared on CBeebies, along with Itchy Itch Itch, illustrated by Emily Bolam. Oliver Who Travelled Far and Wide won the Booktrust Early Years Award. Her books have been translated into many languages worldwide. Brita Granström is a multi-award winning illustrator of children’s books, and has twice been shortlisted for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Brita was born near Eskilstuna in Sweden and studied at Konstfack in Stockholm. Although her Nordic roots remain self-evident in work made on location; both indoors and outdoors, and in all weathers, she has lived and painted in the UK since 1994. Her paintings are in private and public collections around the world and she has appeared on television and radio.
This treasure of a picture book celebrates the delights of a British seaside holiday…Mara Bergman’s episodic, poetic prose is every bit as elegant as Brita Granstrom’s beautiful watercolours, which are a joy to behold. Feast your eyes on the seaweed, snail and shell strewn endpapers before reading the story with children. For adult sharers it will likely bring back memories of their own childhood summer seaside adventures. * Red Reading Hub * This is a beautiful, lyrical, incredibly touching story. It could almost be a book of poems. Its ‘chapters’ are short, sweet and set out to look like poems, accompanied by the most wonderful watercolour illustrations, they truly bring the story to life, they take us into Magie’s thoughts, fears, hopes, and show us how events unfold through her eyes. Mara Bergman and Brita Granstrom have, with their words and illustrations, made a story that will stay in the hearts and minds of its readers for a very long time. The Seal on the Beach is a magical, incredibly special story, and make sure to turn the pages all the way to the very end for there is a note about the inspiration for this story, a heartwarming one. * Armadillo Magazine *
