Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: Town Is by the Sea
Author: Joanne Schwartz
Narrator: Mark Turetsky
Format: Unabridged
Length: 8 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-31-17
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genres: Kids, Ages 5-7
Publisher's Summary:
In this new book from Joanne Schwartz, a young boy enjoys a summer day while his thoughts constantly return to his father, who is digging for coal deep under the sea.
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, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea. With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a maritime mining town will enthrall children and move adult listeners.
Author bio: 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. Her most recent book is Pinny in Summer, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant. Joanne has been a children's librarian for more than 25 years. She lives in Toronto.
Members Reviews:
Wonderful art. The story is about a coal miner's ...
Wonderful art. The story is about a coal miner's son who looks forward to the same employment future. I didn't realize that when I ordered the book, so I added a postscript for my granddaughters, in which the little boy in question decides to pursue a career in green energy like solar and wind power, realizing that the age of coal that sustained his father and grandfather was ending-- and not a moment too soon!
Thought provoking, wonderfully illustrated book
This is a moving book and just a bit sad. You really feel the father's love for his family and the sacrifices he makes to provide for them, poignant more than sad. We get to see the boy and his slow-paced summer day that takes him past the beach many times. Each time he thinks, "And deep down under that sea, my father is digging for coal." This thought is accompanied by a picture of his dad in the dark, small coal mine under the sea.
Smith does a great job contrasting the life above ground with the life under ground. My favorite illustration though occurs near the end of the book. The day is nearly done and the family is sitting together around the dinner table looking relaxed and yet there is blackness under the table. We spent some time contemplating this picture and my daughter and I discussed it at length. The ultimate verdict is that although the family is relaxed and enjoying time together, under the surface, even at the table with them, lurks the spector of the coal and its pervasive, invasive presence.
The end of the story is the sad part really. The boy is in bed and he shares his nighttime routine just as he shared his day. "At nighttime, it goes like this-" He goes on to think about the sea, and his father, and summer days, and the mine. Then he ends with, "One day, it will be my turn. I'm a miner's son. In my town, that's the way it goes." I thought it was so sad. My husband, ever the pragmatic one, commented that there was nothing wrong with being a miner. I explained that I was not sad that the boy might be a miner but that the boy didn't seem to have a choice.
