OLEY THE SEA MONSTER

There's some conflict in age level here- the story level is about five, the pictures are definitely more advanced, hitting at the comic strip appeal age round about eight and nine, with 140 cartoons in inky black, suggesting linoleum block technique.... Oley was a baby seal stolen from his mother for the Chicago Aquarium. Oley was unhappy so- rather than kill him- the keeper put him into the lake. For a few days he was sensation, men thought him a sea monster and tried to capture him, while poor little Oley was simply looking for playmates. Finally, he realized that he must start the long trek back to the sea harbor where he had been born. The doublespread map which traces his journey is the best thing in the book. There's a bit of humor here and there in the main part of the captioned story; there's a peek at city life on the great lake. But in the main, the appeal is hard to sustain.