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Tales of the Seal People: Scottish Folk Tales (International Folk Tale Series) Hardcover – January 1, 1992

by Duncan Williamson (Author), Chad McCail (Author, Illustrator)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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A collection of Scottish folk tales featuring silkies, the seal people who can take human shape
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  1. Reading age
    9 - 12 years
  2. Print length
    150 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    4 - 6
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  6. Publisher
    Interlink Pub Group Inc
  7. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  8. ISBN-10
    1566561019
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1566561013
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Interlink Pub Group Inc (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 150 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1566561019
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1566561013
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 12 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 6
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
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36 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

Saundra
5.0 out of 5 stars Tales of the Seal People: Scottish Folk Tales
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2012
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As an avid reader with a passion for shape-shifters of all kinds, this book suits my needs to perfection. These stories about the seal people were collected on site and are flavored with the smell and taste of the sea. Our curiosity about seals is stoked by their remarkable resemblance to ourselves in some ways--those melting brown eyes, their cries and more. In a time when folk lived close to the earth and sea, these legends helped them navigate unexplained mysteries. Today, when perhaps we know too much, they take us back to the possibilities of fantasy.
5 people found this helpful
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Marinish
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are of Scottish descent or want to learn more about Scotland, read this
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2008
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I think this is a really beautiful collection of authentic Scottish crofters' stories. Those not used to reading Scottish folk tales will probably find the stories repetitive at times, but the repetition is important - these themes were constants in the peoples' lives. It seems that Mr. Williamson did a good job of capturing the real stories and the real people who told them.
8 people found this helpful
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Margaret Ann Simmons
4.0 out of 5 stars Silkies
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013
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I am a tour guide, docent to the elephant seals at Ano Nuevo, California. I love to tell t he silkie seal stories. I know the people do not give a phoquelazation about me but I do believe they like to hear the stories of the hidden secret under the bed. Q: does anyone know more Silkie, Seal stories? Does anyone have a secret seal story?
2 people found this helpful
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M.V.
5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite Scottish Folk Tales
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2013
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From story one in this book I was hooked. This is my favorite book of Scottish Folk Tales of the Sealies. The writings are accurate to the versions of these stories that I have heard from other sources over the years. I recommend this book to a collector of Scottish Folk Tales definitely.
5 people found this helpful
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William Z Wood
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016
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great
One person found this helpful
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FrejaFolkvangar
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read.
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2016
Colloquially told tales of tinkers, selkies, and the sea. A great read.
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Sarah luna
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2015
Beautifully written and memorable.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars this book might be a little slow to some but ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2015
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this book might be a little slow to some but it is mainly for the tails and the insight it gives to the scots.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Arachne202
5.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Wrong The Selkies
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2017
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Duncan Williamson was a professional storyteller, and as a young man in the early 20th century, he wandered around Scotland doing odd jobs for people while gathering these stories. All the stories in this slender book are about the selkies, and in all of them the narrator states that they are true - proclaiming it happened to an ancestor or a friend of a friend.

The stories are told in a very straightforward way; the settings quite recent, seemingly late 19th century to early 20th century; and the recurring tensions are of fishermen battling to make a living on the Scottish coasts, and their ire at the seals who tear holes in their nets and eat the fresh-caught fish. Quite often the fishermen try to take revenge or attempt to hurt the seals in some way. This is often when the seals become selkies, and show they are very capable of exacting revenge in return! They are repeatedly described, when in human form, as having dark hair, big dark eyes and wearing long dark coats. Men, women, and even little selkie children appear in the stories.

What is very striking is the matter-of-fact tone saying that selkies are real, and seen regularly in those parts. This is similar to modern-day stories from people who report seeing ghosts or UFOnauts.

It is written in a mild Scottish dialect, and there is a glossary of Scottish words up the back.
2 people found this helpful
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A. M. Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars A magical journey into the unity of life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2013
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These stories have all the simplicity and beauty of the best Greek myths. A sophisticated moral universe is carefully revealed in these simple tales of the relationship between man and the animal kingdom. In each of these tales fishermen and crofters find their humanity deeply reflected in the mysterious life of the Seals. Men and women swap places with the Seal people in a dance of life and death that spans generations, diving into the hidden depths of nature as the seals equally come to share in the concerns and pains of humanity. In every tryst the same lesson is taught - both species love their young, both fear death, and kindness and compassion form the only bridge that can join the two streams of life. The recurring tragic motif is that mankind would rather trample on the gift of communion, treading animal life underfoot, rejecting his own best nature as well as the life of the creatures that share his world. Turning his back on mystery, beauty and meaning.
If these stories were originally written in Greek and not Gaelic, they would find their place in the summit of the archives of humanity.
4 people found this helpful
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Emma
3.0 out of 5 stars Amazing stories but pages are missing!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2021
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Some of the central pages were missing from the copy we received. I didn’t realise of course until I got to them !
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Emsii
5.0 out of 5 stars very very good book wonderful storytelling of seal people
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2012
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if you love the seal people like i do then you will love this book. the tales are wonderful, spellbinding, gripping, magical. a truly exceptional book i finished in 24hours. i enjoyed every bit of this book. 5 stars ! x
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