I, Sea: A Tale Told in Homonyms

A playful tale about homonyms and the power of perspective

Told through the repetition of two sounds, this delightful pirate adventure is also a clever lesson on homonyms: words that sound the same, or are spelled the same, but have different meanings.

A swashbuckling tabby and their crabby first mate are enjoying a day on the water when—“Eye! Sea!”—a wave crashes against their ship and something gets in the captain’s eye. The two companions visit the optometrist, where the cat reads out the letters I and C during an eye test. The eye doctor explains, “Eye. See?” and teaches the pirate how to put on an eyepatch. By the end of the book, readers will shout “I see!” as it’s revealed that the whole story was part of a child’s bathtub playtime.

This charming ode to language and imagination is illustrated in Ashley Barron’s iconic cut-paper collage artwork. Read aloud, it will spark conversation and exclamation as young kids discover the whimsy of word play.