If you are looking for some good sea stories for elementary school-age children, the books on this list will be perfect. There are stories of sailing ships, cargo ships, and one tale of life in a lighthouse. There are voyages on the ocean and voyages of the imagination along with some true sea stories from our nonfiction section.

Fiction

The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater; illustrated byThe Fan Brothers

Marco the fox has a lot of questions, like: how deep does the sun go when it sinks into the sea? And why do birds have such lizardy feet? But none of the other foxes share his curiosity. So when a magnificent ship adorned with antlers and with a deer for a captain arrives at the dock looking for a crew, Marco volunteers, hoping to find foxes who are as inquisitive as he is that can answer his questions. The crew finds adventure and intrigue on their journey. And, at last, Marco finds the answer to his most important question of all: What’s the best way to find a friend you can talk to?

Captain Jack and the Pirates by Peter Bently and Helen Oxenbury

A swashbuckling high-seas adventure finds young Jack, Zack, and Caspar building a sand boat on the beach before embarking on an imaginative voyage that pits them against enemy pirates and strands them on a desert island, where they discover a “treasure” of delicious desserts.

 

 

Captain's Log Snowbound by Erin Dionne; illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

Excited to give his report on explorer Ernest Shackleton in school, and frustrated by a monstrous snowstorm that has left his family and city snowbound, a boy imagines himself on a voyage where he and his crew (his family) are trapped by the ice, just like his favorite explorer and the ship, Endurance.

Faraway Things by Dave Eggers; illustrated by Kelly Murphy

Lucian's father called them faraway things, those mysterious objects orphaned upon the windswept shore, their stories long lost in the shroud of ocean fog. Lucian's discovery on the beach this particular day, though, is no ordinary faraway thing. It's a cutlass: strong, shiny, and powerful. As its history comes to light, Lucian faces a choice: cling to the sword he loves or accept a gift that shines farther, wider, and deeper than he could have ever dreamed.

 

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

Watch the days and seasons pass as the wind blows, the fog rolls in, and icebergs drift by. Outside, there is water all around. Inside, the daily life of a lighthouse keeper and his family unfolds as the keeper boils water for tea, lights the lamp's wick, and writes every detail in his logbook.
 

 

 

 

Hope at Sea: An Adventure Story by Daniel Miyares

When she stows away on her father’s 19th-century merchant vessel, Hope embarks on a high seas adventure of a lifetime, in this action-packed picture book that also captures the love between a father and child.

 

 

 

My Clementine by Roberto Innocenti

A captain narrates the many adventures he had aboard the refrigerated cargo ship Clementine, from his first sight of the ship in the 1930s, to its voyages around the world, to its becoming a warship in World War II, and to its final sinking in a storm.

 

 

 

Ocean Meets Sky by Terry Fan; illustrated by The Fan Brothers

A story about a young boy who sets sail to find the magical place where the ocean meets the sky in accordance with his late grandfather's descriptions, a voyage marked by imaginative animals and castles that leads to an unexpected discovery.

 

Nonfiction

How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Frank Morrison

A poignant picture book biography of the man behind the iconic hymn, "Amazing Grace", describes how John Newton miraculously survived a stormy night at sea and became a minister before ending his own slaving activities and sharing the words of his prayers to help abolish slavery in England. 
 

Man-of-War by Richard Platt; illustrated by Stephen Biesty

Covering everything from warship design to navigation, a 25th anniversary edition of a nautical entry in the award-winning series features elaborately detailed, fact-filled cross-sections of an 18th-century man-of-war ship.

 

 

 

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann; illustrated by Duane Smith

A biography of Robert Smalls who, during the Civil War, commandeered the Confederate ship Planter to carry his family and twelve other slaves to freedom, and went on to become a United States Congressman working toward African American advancement.

 

 

 

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Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.