Annie Lumsden The girl from the sea by David Almond illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

 

Annie lives with her Mam beside the sea. The description of Annie gives a strong impression that she might be a sea creature - a mermaid:

"I have hair that drifts like seaweed when I swim. I have eyes that shine like rock pools. My ears are like scallop shells. The ripples on my skin are like the ripples on the sand when the tide has turned back again. At night I gleam and glow like the sea beneath the stars and moon."

School is a terrible struggle for Annie and she is curious about her father. Her mother tells heartfelt stories of long ago and of love on the beach.  One day a mysterious stranger arrives. He takes a photo of Annie. Is this image a way to know the truth?

There are beautiful illustrations in this book and the image hidden under the dust jacket is very special.

I was asked to read Annie Lumsden, the Girl from the Sea, because a friend who is a Teacher-Librarian in a Kinder to Grade Two setting bought this book from a local book store. It was placed with the very junior books but, since Annie is actually thirteen, my friend rightly thought this book would be for older readers perhaps it might even be a YA title. I find it odd that the publisher rep (Walker books) did not advise the book store that this book, even though it looks appropriate for very young readers because it is slim (60 pages) and has colourful illustrations, is best suited to readers aged 10+. The book it is taken from actually suggests ages 12-17. How do I know this?  Teacher-Librarians are keen readers of imprint information - the tiny details found on the back of a title page.  Annie Lumsden, girl from the sea says:

"First published in 2007 as 'Half a creature from the sea' in Click." Naturally I was curious and my search took me to this title Half a creature from the sea:

Here is a quote from Publisher's Weekly:

Beyond offering eight alluring epiphany stories (most previously published elsewhere), Almond  provides a rare glimpse into the writer’s imagination and the process of creation. “I try to do what many writers have done before me: show that ordinary places can be extraordinary,” he notes in the introduction. The selections are prefaced with childhood memories that serve as inspiration for strange, mysterious narratives illuminated by Taylor’s haunting b&w drawings. Almond invites readers to journey through streets lined with small stores, to savor a saveloy sandwich from the local pork shop, and to ponder the possibility of fathers, dead and gone, returning to Earth. 

The title story, about “a daughter who might be half a creature from the sea”, is one of the strangest in the collection, subtly interweaving memories of the glorious Northumberland coast with myths of mermaids and sea gods. Like all the other stories, though, it charts that troubling but inevitable rite of passage from innocence to experience. It tells us that “Sometimes … the best way to understand how to be human is to understand our strangeness”. READ Research in English at Durham 

Then I dug further and found Click:

Ten distinguished authors each write a chapter of this intriguing novel of mystery and family, which examines the lives touched by a photojournalist George Keane, aka Gee. Publisher’s Weekly

Here are the ten authors: David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, and Tim Wynne-Jones. 

Putting all these puzzle pieces together Annie Lumsden was first a chapter in a story about a photographer, then it was added to an anthology by David Almond and finally it is a stand alone book. 

Annie Lumsden... reads like a fable and easily becomes part of the readers consciousness, causing a shift in perception (much like many of Almonds' other books and in particular, Skellig.) It is haunting, ebbing and flowing like the tides that create it. Gently humourous, astoundingly insightful and utterly enchanting … Fallen Stars Stories

David Almond’s thought-provoking, sensitive tale is as broad and as deep as the ocean it evokes and Beatrice Alemagna’s vivid, playful illustrations enrich the mystery and wonder on every page. Together they capture the elusive innocence of childhood and the beauty of nature with a magical realism that beckons the reader to dive in and interpret Annie’s world.Readings

The research I did for Annie Lunsden reminds me of another slim novel for older children which originally came from a anthology - Captain Rosalie.