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This book by Holling Clancy Holling does for the sea what Paddle-to-the-Sea did for the Great Lakes region and Tree in the Trail for the southwest. Seabird is an ivory gull, carved by Ezra Brown, youngest hand on an oldtime whaling vessel. Through Seabird's eyes, scenes of beauty, danger, and excitement from every ocean and from every age of American adventure are revealed. With Ezra Brown, Seabird watched the harpooning of great whales. Later she sailed with Captain Ezra in a lofty clipper ship to the south Seas and the Orient. With Ezra's son and then with his grandson, Seabird rode the waves, as the clippers outsailed the old whalers and steam finally drove sailing craft from the sea. In the final pages, the aircraft comes into its own, and the book leads on into aviation and the future. Though the Browns' ship changed, there remained the courage and inventiveness of these men of the sea. Four generations of this family helped develop new triumphs in navigation, for over them hovered the luck of the ivory Seabird. Recommended for ages 8 to 12. A 1949 Newbery Honor book.
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