Children's Fiction Multigenerational
Town Is by the Sea
- Publisher
- Groundwood Books Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2017
- Category
- Multigenerational, Post-Confederation (1867-), General
- Recommended Age
- 5 to 9
- Recommended Grade
- k to 4
- Recommended Reading age
- 5 to 9
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781554988716
- Publish Date
- Apr 2017
- List Price
- $21.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781773062877
- Publish Date
- Aug 2019
- List Price
- $10.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Winner of CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
Winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
A young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather’s grave after lunch and comes home to a simple family dinner with his family, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea. Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Sidewalk Flowers, show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig.
With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of Canadian history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a Cape Breton mining town will enthrall children and move adult readers.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7
Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
About the authors
Joanne Schwartz was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Her first picture book, Our Corner Grocery Store, illustrated by Laura Beingessner, was nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Her other books include City Alphabet and City Numbers, with photos by Matt Beam, and two Inuit folktales with Cape Dorset elder Qaunaq Mikkigak — The Legend of the Fog, illustrated by Danny Christopher, and Grandmother Ptarmigan, illustrated by Qin Leng. Joanne has been a children’s librarian for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Toronto.
Joanne Schwartz's profile page
Sydney Smith was born in rural Nova Scotia and has been drawing from an early age. Since graduating from NSCAD University, he has illustrated multiple children’s books, including the highly acclaimed wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers, conceived by Jon Arno Lawson, which won a Governor General’s Award, was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book and has been long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal. He is also the illustrator of Grant and Tillie Go Walking by Monica Kulling and The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart, both highly acclaimed. Sydney has received a number of other awards for his illustrations, including the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. He now lives in Toronto and works in a shared studio space in Chinatown.
Awards
- Winner, TD Canadian Children's Literature Award
- Winner, Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration
- Commended, Cooperative Children's Book Center Best of the Year
- Winner, CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
- Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award
- Commended, Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year
- Commended, ALSC Notable Children's Books
- Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books
- Commended, NPR Book Concierge
- Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Award, Young People's Literature — Illustrated Books
- Commended, Horn Book Fanfare
- Commended, New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award
- Commended, BookPage Best Children's & Young Adult Books
- Commended, New York Times Notable Children’s Books
- Commended, School Library Journal Best Books
- Commended, Shelf Awareness Best Books of the Year
- Commended, Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids and Teens
- Commended, Denver Public Library Best Children's & Teen Books
Editorial Reviews
This quietly devastating book … stirs timeless, elemental emotions.
New York Times
This is a moving story, and a fine example of text and pictures in perfect harmony.
Horn Book
this story ebbs and flows like the sea itself . . . one of the best illustrated books of the year . . .
Huffington Post
A quiet book that will stay with readers long after they have closed it.
Kirkus Reviews
Art and text meld for a powerful glimpse at a way of life that begs inspection. A thoughtful and haunting book that will stay with readers.
School Library Journal
Hauntingly beautiful.
Booklist
Sydney Smith's gorgeous, airy illustrations showcase the beauty of childhood in the seaside town. … [Schwartz] perfectly captures the matter-of-fact thinking of a small child.
Quill & Quire
Other titles by
Other titles by
Island Storm
I Talk Like a River
Santa's First Christmas
Do You Remember?
It's Up to Us
Building a Brighter Future for Nature, People & Planet (The Children's Terra Carta)
Canada Year by Year - Revised Edition
Inkling
Small in the City
Smoot
A Rebellious Shadow
Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts
Related lists
32 books
Favourite Kids' Books
12 books
2018 Atlantic Book Awards Winners
9 books
TRA Library
6 books
Winners: CCBC Book Awards for 2018
27 books
2018 CCBC Book Awards
10 books
2018 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Awards Shortlists
24 books
2018 Atlantic Book Awards Shortlists
5 books
Great young adult and children's books of 2017
Related blog posts
Seeds of a Story: Kids' Book Nominees Tell All
From Beyonce's "Lemonade" to Sigur Ross, a game of shinny in the woods, a grandfather stationed on a training vessel during the Halifax Explosion, and …
Notes from a Children's Librarian: Rocks and Minerals
Nonfiction, picture books, and novels that support the Grade 4 curriculum.
On Our Radar
Books With Buzz Worth Sharing
13 Picture Books to Fall in Love With This Spring
These gorgeous books will warm your heart, and whoever you're reading them to will like them just as much as you do.