Parents' Guide to

When the Sea Turned to Silver

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Rich folklore-fantasy blend makes a great read-aloud.

Book Grace Lin Fantasy 2016
When the Sea Turned to Silver Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 6+

Based on 2 parent reviews

EHaralamos
EHaralamos Adult
April 24, 2020
age 5+

Great books!!

Love these books! My 7 and 8 year old daughters wouldn't allow me to put this book down, and even their four year old brother enjoyed listening. We've enjoyed the stories within the stories, and piecing it all together. We would hypothesize how and who and why. It was so fun! Highly recommend for family read aloud! Also, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Starry River of the Sky are companion books that all follow different generations of the same family.
hophop
hophop Parent
March 29, 2018
age 7+

Silver trilogy

When the Sea turned to Silver is the third in a wonderful trilogy by Grace Lin. These books are magically told, lavishly illustrated and poetically rich. Lovely analogies, rich language characterization, personal development of the characters as they undergo internal and external journeys, and strong implicit messages about family love and respect and individual integrity versus lust for power or riches suffuse the books. Elinor, my daughter, who discovered these at 6 and read them all by herself, loves these books and begged for the second and the third after completing the first. The hardbacks are particularly beautiful and well worth the difference in price but the illustrations also translate well in the paperbacks. Although Elinor is now between 6 and 7, these books are equally appropriate for any child up to 13 or so and even I love reading them. It is too soon to tell but I can imagine these becoming classics and revisited at different ages once on the shelf.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER tells the story of how Pinmei and her friend Yishan go on a journey to find and rescue Pinmei's grandmother. The emperor's soldiers come to Pinmei and Amah's remote mountain hut, take Amah away, and burn the hut to the ground. Pinmei and Yishan, her friend from higher up on the mountain, set out to find and rescue Amah from the emperor's clutches. Along the way they encounter the beautiful Lady Meng, the Sea King, a pair of greedy monkeys, and many others; and Pinmei learns not only that she's inherited her grandmother's gift for storytelling and why storytelling is so important, but she also learns she's capable of much more than she thought.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Author Grace Lin has created another gorgeously written, beautifully illustrated folklore-fantasy tale that readers of a wide range of ages will savor over and over. When the Sea Turns to Silver's illustrations and clever book design enhance the experience by providing engaging detail and hidden hints that will delight and intrigue.

The folktales themselves (created by Lin) augment and foreshadow Pinmei's fantastic, magical journey. They're stunningly imagined and so thoroughly steeped in real folklore elements that they seem as old as the Black Tortoise of Winter himself.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about storytelling in When the Sea Turned to Silver. Why do Amah and Pinmei tell stories? What do you and the characters in the book like about the stories?

  • If someone or something magical could make you immortal, would you want to be? Why, or why not?

  • Which story in the book is your favorite? What do you like best about it?

Book Details

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