Lynne Cox (1)Critiques

Short and sweet!
Very touching.

Gripping read about a woman who does long distance swimming in the world's coldest waters. You'll feel cold reading it (making it the perfect summer read!) and awed by the willpower Lynne Cox demonstrates. If you've ever participated in an endurance sport, you must read this book.

If you're an animal lover or just enjoy nature in general, I recommend this to you. The author's talent for vivid description was what I liked most about this book, which is about her encounter with a baby whale while training off the California coast (she had swum the English Channel by the time she was 15 years old). She seems to have remembered every detail of those hours when she swam with the baby gray whale, searching for its mother; I enjoyed reading about the many animals she encountered and the colors and movement of the water at different depths and distances from the shore.

Less enjoyable were the author's pauses in the narrative to philosophize to the reader, and at times directly to the baby whale.

Grayson, don't go. We'll find your mother. Be patient. Sometimes you just have to believe. Sometimes that belief gets you where you want to go, sometimes it carries you a little closer, and then you discover another way.

This is the type of thing that makes me throw myself on the floor and pretend to be in my death throes. Or at least make rude noises with my mouth.

She was also a bit heavy-handed with the similes.

While the above complaints did knock my rating down a couple stars, I was moved by the story and was generally glad I read it. If it were a longer book, I might not feel that way, but I liked more than I didn't like in the 148 pages she took to tell her story.

New-Zealand, elephant-seal, Christchurch, adventure, experiment, choices, home, swimming, environment, danger*****

What a great story! And it's mostly true! Elizabeth Queen of the seas was the name given by people in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand to an elephant seal who totally defied convention and chose to live in and around the river that runs through the city. This is her story and it has information at the end about the breed known as elephant seals (who weigh more than 15 Labrador retrievers). There is also a photo of her!
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or public library!
The illustrations by Brian Floca are delightful, imaginative, and colorful.
I was lucky to find this one on sale for granddaughter Elizabeth!

This is a memoir in the "look at the impressive results of my work ethic" vein. From a literary point of view, this is tiresome, but it's easy to suspend annoyance: Lynne Cox's swimming achievements are amazing. She pushes the bounds of human ability in an arena that brings little to no fame or fortune. She survives, and seems to find joy, in plunging into freezing water, dodging icebergs and sharks, to spend hours pushing through the boundaries that the human body has erected in an attempt not to get killed by hypothermia. It's never quite clear why she feels driven to do this, but there are some convincing scenes of post-swim euphoria, beautiful pods of dolphins and blooms of phosphorescent algae, and pride in the achievement of world-class teams.

A story based on true events and a real seal. Again, reading this makes we simple humans marvel at the wonder of what animals can do.

There are good things to say about this little book about a young long distance swimmer from Seal Beach, Ca and her amazing encounter with a lost baby gray whale. The writer/narrator brings the ocean world to life and paints a picture of teaming biodiversity off the shores of Southern California. She weaves in educational snippets for young students who might have an interest in marine biology, and she does it by telling a story that is sure to pull the heart strings of some readers.

That having been said, I really thought that this short 150 page story could have been shorter. I am personally not a fan of writing that attempts to outdo itself with its expressions of creative imagery. What do I mean by that? I mean finding multiple different ways to tell us the same thing, and this happened often enough for me to want to skim to get past it. One example came when the narrator expressed how hungry she was, then proceeded to list a literal menu of options that could have satisfied that hunger. I got the point halfway through the list and didn't need more.

Still, it's a nice little book to add to one's collection, especially if you are familiar with the little community of Seal Beach, California.

This was a mellow, soothing audio to listen to on short road trip.

Lynne Cox was a long distance swimmer. In the ocean. When she was a teenager in the 1970s, she swam with a group of other teenagers to cross the Catalina Island Channel in California. They were the first teenagers to do so. It only fuelled her desire for bigger, longer, colder swims. She worked for 10 years (meanwhile doing other swims: English Bay, Cook Strait (between the North and South Islands of New Zealand), the Nile River (ugh!) in Egypt, and many more) to be able to cross the Bering Strait (from Alaska to the Soviet Union – this was during the Cold War, which is why it was so difficult to get permission). Ultimately, after all that, she swam in the Antarctic Ocean in 32 F water for a hour.

This was really good. I’m not much into sports or swimming, but it was so interesting to learn all the planning and different things they have to think about and arrange when they do such swims. And it was even somewhat suspenseful – the cold! She obviously lived through it all to write this memoir, but to read about what was going through her head (and going on with her body) while she swam in water that was in the 40s F (then later, 30s!). So interesting!

She accomplishes insane feats and is lovingly matter of fact about it all.

the story itself is fascinating, and she sure knows how the ocean works, but it's not particulary great literature. Still...she swam with a whale!He followed her around! The book did resurrect my weird fears/fascnations with large underwater creatures...

This book contains the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal that made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

A touching book based on true events.

~Longer review to come.

Great! It made me feel like even more of a slacker than usual, which at this time of year is just what I needed.

Mooi verhaal over een jonge zwemster die een jonge walvis vindt die gescheiden is van zijn moeder. En over de zoektocht om moeder en kind te herenigen.½

Fabulous description and emotion. A unique perspective on understanding the ocean and whales in particular. Great human/whale interaction.

I normally don't go for the inspirational books, let alone the sports memoirs. Lynne Cox is the exception to all of this. Her book is soft spoken, determined, and truly inspirational. The book isn't preaching, nor is it a hearty pat on the back in any way. She acknowledges how difficult all that she did was, and she is thankful every step of the way to those who helped her do it.

Lynne Cox is truly one of the most incredible people I've ever had the joy of reading about. She achieved more in her life than just about anyone else I've read. They should be teaching about this woman in schools. What hope, and what stubborn determination. If everyone had her drive - well, this world would be a far better place.

My hat's off to Ms. Cox. She's certainly inspired me.

This story would be much more captivating in the form of a picture book or magazine article.

Born into a family of competitive swimmers, Cox was not built for speed. Instead she forged a fascinating life for herself as a world-class open-water swimmer. I will NEVER forget the description of her swimming in third-world bodies of water! No spoilers—you just have to read it.

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox is the beautiful, true story of Elizabeth, the elephant seal from New Zealand.

She decided she wanted to live in the city and nothing was going to stop her. Read along in the story to see how Elizabeth makes her dreams come true.

The book is beautifully illustrated and keeps your attention. It's a great story for young readers, easy to read, and keeps your attention!

5*****

Long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox relates the true story of Elizabeth, an elephant seal who lived in Christchurch, New Zealand, in this wonderful picture-book. Swimming in the sweet water of the Avon River, and sunning herself on a nearby road, our phocine heroine, dubbed "Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas" by the people of Christchurch because of her regal mien, knew she belonged in the city. The humans, on the other hand, were not as sure, and tried multiple times to relocate her to wilder locales. To their surprise, and eventual delight, Elizabeth always made her way home again, until the humans (always a little slow) finally accepted her presence, and adjusted their behavior accordingly...

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas is an absolute delight! I found myself rooting for the eponymous Elizabeth, as she struggles just to remain in the place she has chosen as a home, and think the choice to have Michael - one of the children who originally told Lynne Cox the story - as a focal point was a good storytelling decision, as it highlights the positive impact this elephant seal had on the humans around her. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations by Caldecott medalist Brian Floca are every bit as engaging as the text, capturing the poignancy of Elizabeth's many journeys. I particularly liked the moonlit scene in which she arrives home for the last time. I appreciated the informative afterword, which included a photograph of the real Elizabeth, although I would have liked more information about her, rather than about elephant seals in general. Still, despite that quibble, this is an excellent book, one I wholeheartedly recommend to all young animal lovers, as well as to all Brian Floca fans.

Prentenboek

The author is a good writer. The attitude throughout the book is positive, stories are motivating and inspiring. The change of goals in the last third of the book towards being an ambassador of goodwill adds interest and shows that real people often modify their focus after their initial goal has been reached.

The description of dolphin behavior in the New Zealand swim is detailed and better than most descriptions of their behavior in more scientific publications.

My rating would have been slightly higher if the author had finished the side-story of her friend, the young Egyptian athlete, after bringing it into the story and following it for a while.

This book is a good choice for athletes and all who are looking for a way to make a difference or just to find their strengths and develop them to a follow a path forward in life.

This nonfiction picture book describes the true story of an elephant seal named Elizabeth. Elizabeth makes Christchurch, New Zealand her home. A young boy named Michael becomes attached to her. However, she is soon relocated out of the city for her safety. To everyone's amazement (especially Michael), she soon returns to Christchurch. This happens several times until the city decided Elizabeth belonged there as it was truly her home. The book includes some facts about southern elephant seals at the end.

Elizabeth is an elephant seal who makes her home in ChristChurch, New Zealand. The community enjoys Elizabeth but one day she wonders over a busy street and nearly causes an accident. The people of Christ Church worry that Elizabeth will cause an accident, so they tow her far out to sea. Elizabeth finds her way back. They take her farther and again she returns. A final time, and after over a month, Elizabeth returns to Christ CHurch. Rather than tow her away again, they make changes in the community such as putting up signs to protect her.

Caldecott Award winning Brian Floca illustrates the story with watercolor. Lynne Cox uses a narrative format to tell the story. The end of the book includes a fact page about elephant seals.