Herman and the Princess Gull By Captain Lew Maurer, Illustrated by Candace Camling HEARTWARMING STORY OF UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP TEACHES CHILDREN ABOUT THE OCEAN AND ITS CREATURES
— Friendship and love win the day in charming tale
Written by retired boat Captain Lew Maurer, with lively illustrations by Candace Camling, Herman and the Princess Gull (November 2, 2021) will delight and inspire readers of all ages.
Beautifully illustrated, the story begins with Herman, a hermit crab who longs to explore the ocean and beach but is too afraid. When a weak Heermann’s Gull named Antares appears, Herman risks his life to help her eat and regain her strength. They soon become friends and Antares saves him from hungry snapper fish and gives him protection to explore. When Antares is strong again, she returns to her family across the sea, but not before helping Herman find a protective shell that gives him the freedom to continue his island adventures.
“I wrote it based on the bedtime stories I told my twin granddaughters. Herman and The Princess Gull is the first in my Captain Lew book series,” explains Lew. “Be prepared—kids ask to hear this story night after night.”
Intended for children ages three to eight, Herman and the Princess Gull introduces themes of friendship, survival, and compassion. The educational backstory pages include a glossary of the cast of characters. Marine photography further depicts the illustrations and explains the scientific concepts in ways that readers of all ages will understand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Captain Lew Maurer grew up on fishing boats, and spent his entire life on the water, repairing, building, and operating commercial and pleasure vessels all over the world. This depth of knowledge and experience gave him the ability to build and captain Moana a very special, long-range power catamaran. His love affair with the sea is tangible as he describes in authentic detail, his fifteen-year odyssey to the most remote places on our planet. He calls San Diego home … when he is home. Learn more
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Candace Camling lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her family where she writes and creates artwork in her attic studio. She earned a BFA in illustration and digital media from Kendall College of Art & Design. Candace has won many awards in juried shows and contests. She has also worked with a wide variety of clients and collaborators. You can visit her at www.camlingstudio.com
Herman and the Princess Gull is available for preorder and releases November 2, 2021.
Heartwarming story of unlikely friendship teaches children about the ocean and its creatures
Q&A with Captain Lew Maurer: Author of Herman and the Princess Gull
Question: What inspired you to write Herman and the Princess Gull?
Maurer: Herman and the Princess Gull was inspired by a true event on a beautiful beach in Costa Rica, twenty years ago. While I was out surfing, my girlfriend Debbie discovered a hermit crab hiding under some seaweed. The poor crab had no shell for protection, so the hunt was on, and we eventually found an empty shell that was just the right size. It was heartwarming to see him crawl into the shell and we put him on the sand to join his friends.
Q: Which animal behaviors are factual?
Maurer: Except for the relationship between Herman and Antares, the cast of characters’ behavior is quite factual. Herman is a lonely hermit crab who has no shell to protect him from predators, and he has one large claw. Antares is a Heerman’s Gull that is indeed more beautiful than the Herring Gulls and a better flier. Herring Gulls are the bully’s of the waterfront, fighting and screeching all the time over food. The snappers are night stalkers, exactly as depicted when Herman falls in the late afternoon.
Q: Why are the illustrations more authentic instead of whimsical?
Maurer: I considered making the illustrations with a whimsical touch, but after a lifetime love affair with the sea and all its creatures, I wanted to share the real beauty of my world with my young readers. In truth, it is impossible to improve on Mother Nature.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from Herman’s tale?
Maurer: I was small for my age when I was a young boy. The world was big and I was a bit scared to try to do many things. I want my young readers to understand how Herman was like that, but decided to be brave and help Antares. And in life, when you take a chance to help someone, you can be rewarded with unconditional love and friendship.
Q: How does your sailing experience inform the story?
Maurer: In the real marine world, interactions between its inhabitants are usually a brutal, never ending struggle for survival. There are exceptions, when one animal has a friendly if not loving relationship with another. Spending so much of my life at sea, I saw these rare and heartwarming encounters that no doubt influenced how I wrote Herman and the Princess Gull.
Herman and the Princess Gull is available for preorder and releases November 2, 2021.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
