Shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award

Young Becca has often gone with her parents to visit her grandmother at her rustic cabin in the Gulf Islands. But this year her mother is expecting a baby, and Becca is sent alone for the first time.

The island becomes a place of mystery and challenges when, on the very first night, she finds an oyster full of pearls. That marks the beginning of small but significant adventures that leave her seeing the island, her family and herself through new eyes.

Deirdre Baker has taught children's literature throughout Canada and the U.S. and currently teaches in the English department at the University of Toronto. She is the co-author (with Ken Setterington) of A Guide to Canadian Children's Books as well as Follow That Broomstick: A Guide to the Best Fantasy Literature for Young Readers (co-authored with Michele Landsberg). Deirdre lives in Toronto, Ontario, but spends her summers on Hornby Island, the setting for Becca at Sea.

Deirdre Baker's profile page

• Commended, Horn Book Mind the Gap Awards
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens (Starred Selection)
• Short-listed, CLA Book of the Year for Children Award
• Commended, Quill & Quire Books of the Year 2007 List

This wonderful novel is reminiscent of Lucy Maud Montgomery at her finest - episodic yet energetic, and rich in brilliant characterization and incident. Baker's characters leap off the page with dialogue that is both weird and believable.

Quill & Quire, STARRED REVIEW

Baker's dialogue is true-to-life, witty, and intelligent, and the setting is lovingly depicted. This funny, endearing book should find a wide audience.

Metro Kids Delaware

Baker captures the fun as well as frustration of one girl’s winter, spring and summer of wonder and growth on a glorious northwest coast island.

Kirkus Reviews

...a fun, old-fashioned family story...

School Library Journal

Her dialogue is true-to-life, witty, and intelligent...With a lovingly depicted island setting that readers will yearn to visit, this funny, endearing book should find a wide audience.

Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW

To call Becca at Sea a rite-of-passage novel is to diminish its subtlety. It is really a much richer creature than that, a beautifully paced, perfectly pitched narrative in the voice of a girl caught in the eddy between babyhood and teenage-hood, one that delineates the subtle ripening of self in the midst of fully fleshed family members and friends.

Globe and Mail

...easy-to-read...readers will enjoy reading about Becca and her adventures. Recommended.

Library Media Connection

Becca at Sea is a charming little story, beautifully written. Some of the passages are almost lyrical. The novel embodies innocence, understanding, compassion, morality, and humour. The scenes are skillfully drawn, and Becca's family is a real joy.

CM Magazine

Becca at Sea

As her parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby, Becca goes to Gran’s cottage where she finds herself learning how to shuck oysters, make jam, turn compost and grow a garden. During her stay with grandma, Becca soon realizes that she yearns for something more. Becca wants to make things happen. After all, she will soon be a big sister and not the baby of the family.

Becca soon finds herself swept away by one thrilling and startling adventure after another. She is kissed by a seal, saves her family from a burning house, and swims all the way around Camas Island. It is through these adventurous journeys that Becca learns a lot about herself and what it is like to become an independent and confident person.

Becca at Sea is a delightful fiction full of suspense and adventure. Author Deirdre Baker is a remarkable storyteller who uses unique literary devices and techniques which create meaning and images through language. It is through her distinctive writing style that the reader is able to gain a deeper understanding of the story. Divided into manageable chapters, the book is an easy read. The gripping escapades compel the reader to continue reading as Becca takes them from one exciting exploration to the next.

Becca at Sea is more than an enlightening story of a young girl growing up through adventures of the sea and outdoors. It is a book about the significance of family and friendship and is highly recommended for any school library.

Becca at Sea

As her parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby back home, Becca goes to Gran’s cottage and finds herself unexpectedly changed by adventures large and small.