Adventure At Sea With Sailor Marie

Marie, a plucky, bright-spirited (and hungry) little girl, steers her small sail-boat off to adventure in the South Pacific. The book is written in verse and lavishly illustrated in color. In thirty-eight pages and with thirty-nine full-color illustrations, this is a read-aloud book for children from five to nine.

Fortified with a bountiful basket of goodies from her mother, little Marie meets adventures, but not quite of the exotic type she’d imagined. She is fearless and resourceful. Undaunted by a frustrating night on a tiny desert island, she captains her little sloop successfully back home to a happy surprise. Written in clever, well-crafted, natural verse and profusely illustrated with delightful pictures, this is definitely a read-aloud book. It’s a real charmer for any young child. The author avoids the impoverished vocabulary so commonly seen in children’s books. The young reader will learn a few new words (and maybe just a pinch about sailing). The voyage through Sailor Marie's thirty-eight pages takes around fifteen minutes—a nice length for a bed-time story. It’s recommended for ages five to nine (but it’s not illegal to read it to any adult sweet-heart who retains a fondness for those really good children’s books).

Steve Callahan is a native Kansan whose degrees in math, theater and computer science have led him through a day-time career with IBM and a night-time career as a director, actor and occasional playwright. Since 1990 he has also reviewed theater and opera for KDHX St. Louis. His opera reviews appear on Broadway World. Sailor Marie is the fruit of a lifetime’s love affair with classic children’s books—and a long, long habit of writing rhymed verse. (A grand-daughter once said, “Grandad is like having your own private Dr. Seuss.”) Steve’s retirement from the left-brain day-job has allowed him more time to indulge all those right-brain activities. And after repeated nudgings from his wife, artist Marjorie Williamson, he finally sat himself down and wrote this nicely longish poem about little Sailor Marie. It was mostly for grand-children, but you can read it too.

Marjorie Williamson grew up in St. Louis.  Like millions of other English majors she found a career in software development during which her innate artistic gifts more-or-less languished.  Her husband’s involvement in theater drew her into becoming one of St. Louis’ most admired creators of theater posters.  She’s done a stageful of Van Gogh forgeries, another stageful of portraits of beautiful male dancers.  Her more traditional work in oils and drawings has won her awards and a one-woman exhibition at a library gallery.   Insightful, witty, even mischievous, Marjorie is a joyous explorer in various media.  Her three-dimensional miniatures cover the range from whimsical to distinctly disturbing.  This is her first venture into book illustration, and her Sailor Marie is a creation you’ll adore.