Jamin and Gerald should not have made these comments, but I believe the comments are not really so much about Nellie's blindness, they basically represent the brothers' frustration at not winning, at being suddenly outperformed by someone much younger and less experienced than they are (they have been the older, more experienced brothers for so long that it is hard to relinquish their place on the podium).Strong readers are able to automatically visualize a story. Sibling rivalry is often a fact of life, and just because Nellie is blind does not mean that there might not be sibling rivalry between her older brothers and herself. And the parents do intervene almost immediately, explaining to Gerald and Jamin that although their sister's eyes might be blind, she can see with her mind, she can see with her sense of touch, sound, smell and taste. Nellie's sense of touch, her sense of hearing, of taste are stimulated by both the ocean and her family, who bring the ocean, the seaside to her to explore, but who also allow Nellie to explore the beach on her own she is not constantly being controlled and coddled by her family.Īlthough I do find that the brothers are being a bit harsh and unreasonable towards their sister when they claim that Nellie is cheating, that she cannot see the ocean because she is blind, I think they are basically just being typical older brothers who cannot handle being outdone by their little sister. I appreciate how Jamin and Gerald put Nellie in the sand, how she is allowed to lie in the ocean water, to finger the grains of sand, how the boys bring buckets of seaweed, fish and shells for her to touch, how her father carries Nellie into the surf.
While Nellie's family does not approach her as a "special" or "challenged" child (she is simply Gerald and Jamin's little sister, her parents' daughter), both parents and older brothers do endeavour to stimulate Nellie's sense of touch, sound, hearing, even taste.
The author does leave many little clues throughout the narrative that show/depict Nellie as being potentially visually challenged (she does not want to join in her brothers' games about who can first see the ocean, she does not fight for a window seat in the car, she is more attuned to the sound of the ocean, the texture of the sand, the caress of a salty sea breeze), but I wonder if a young child would catch all of these clues (I think this is definitely a book that might need to be read more than once). I have to admit that I am a bit taken aback by the fact that one does not get to actually know about Nellie's blindness until the very end of the book. For the most part, I really enjoyed See the Ocean both Estelle Condra's story and Linda Crockett-Blassingame's illustrations are poignant, evocative and just plain lovely (especially the beach scenes and waterscapes show the magic of the ocean, the flowing, swirling, translucent quality of the sea).
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