Neptune Rising

NEPTUNE RISING

Songs & Tales of the Undersea Folk

Illustrated by David Wiesner

Philomel 1982

ISBN# 0-399-20918-2 Philomel hardcover

These stories and poems–some reprints–are all about the undersea folk. Mermaids, mermen, selchies, undines, merrows, the sea gods. Stories range from the tragic “The Lady and the Merman,” to the angry “The Undine,” to the terrifying “The Malaysian Mer.” Wiesner would win the Caldecott Medal a few years later.

Poem Neptune Rising and story Sule Skerry were both reprinted in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.

Recordings:

• “The Ballad of the White Seal Maid” from NEPTUNE RISING in Lui Collins “There’s A Light” — Lui Collins recordings at Mabels Music and Card Shop.
• “The Ballad of the White Seal Maid” from NEPTUNE RISING (the Lui Collins music) sung by Holly Tannen, in “Rime of the Ancient Matriarch, Email Holly Tannen htannen@mcn.org.

What reviewers have said:

• *(starred review) “Yolen has compiled a beautiful book of poetry, fiction and myth centered around the sea and its magical denizens…The imagery is simple yet beautiful…This is an outstanding and original collection with something in it for everybody.”—School Library Journal
• “With her mystical verse and her undulating prose…Jane Yolen has created an undersea world for land-dwellers that is alluring…As always Yolen’s prose is poetry. And Neptune Rising is a sea-jewel to be read aloud or alone.”—Family Journal, Springfield MA.
• “A collection of unexcelled quality…”—StarLine