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Town Is by the Sea
While a young boy enjoys a summer's day, his thoughts constantly return to his father, who is digging for coal deep under the sea. Stunning illustrations by Sydney Smith, the award-winning illustrator of Footpath Flowers , show the striking contrast between a sparkling seaside day and the darkness underground where the miners dig. This beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of mining history to life. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a mining town will enthral children and move adult readers, as a young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather's grave after lunch and comes home to a cosy dinner with his family, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea.
52 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2017
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February 17, 2020
This is a beautiful book and would make a perfect book for boys to read with their fathers and especially meaningful to anyone who has relatives who have worked in the mines.
The story follows a young boy who lives by the sea. He describes his day by the glittering sea and sunny park whilst being aware that his father is below in the coal mines. Whilst he enjoys the freedom of childhood and beautiful surroundings he is aware one day his time will come to follow his father to work in the mines.
It's a positive book though, beautiful and poetic. The illustrations are wonderful, we loved the fluid drawing of a dog running, we enjoyed the Lowry inspired scenes of the mines and the colours and effects of the light on the sea are very good. This is meant to be set in the 50's but we found no clues in the clothes or the home to show us that so we were confused at first as it looks as if it is modern day. Perhaps this was because this was a poor family, no 50's design had crept in but to us they looked contemporary. I suspect a small house was not such an indication of poverty in those times as it is now but the illustration of the kitchen is so spacious, the size of most people's entire downstairs, only part of the kitchen window is visible but I counted 21 large panes of glass, which is confusing given this is meant to be a poor family.
The author's note at the end was an interesting end point. I would highly recommend this book.
Reread today 17/02/20. Perhaps it's because it's February but I didn't find this book as uplifting as I did in my original review. I got the message -enjoy your your childhood because as an adult you will be doing work you will hate just to survive.
The story follows a young boy who lives by the sea. He describes his day by the glittering sea and sunny park whilst being aware that his father is below in the coal mines. Whilst he enjoys the freedom of childhood and beautiful surroundings he is aware one day his time will come to follow his father to work in the mines.
It's a positive book though, beautiful and poetic. The illustrations are wonderful, we loved the fluid drawing of a dog running, we enjoyed the Lowry inspired scenes of the mines and the colours and effects of the light on the sea are very good. This is meant to be set in the 50's but we found no clues in the clothes or the home to show us that so we were confused at first as it looks as if it is modern day. Perhaps this was because this was a poor family, no 50's design had crept in but to us they looked contemporary. I suspect a small house was not such an indication of poverty in those times as it is now but the illustration of the kitchen is so spacious, the size of most people's entire downstairs, only part of the kitchen window is visible but I counted 21 large panes of glass, which is confusing given this is meant to be a poor family.
The author's note at the end was an interesting end point. I would highly recommend this book.
Reread today 17/02/20. Perhaps it's because it's February but I didn't find this book as uplifting as I did in my original review. I got the message -enjoy your your childhood because as an adult you will be doing work you will hate just to survive.
June 14, 2017
There’s been a lot of talk lately about how a parent can engender empathy in their children. It’s a good question and worth a lot of discussion and listening. As a parent I’ve wondered about it myself, but it's not the only question I've asked myself. How do you give a child a sense of self-worth without false ego inflation? Does responsibility linked with a direct reward system help or hurt the child in the long run? And most importantly (and this is a kicker) how do you help a child feel grateful for the life that they lead? Gratitude is a particularly difficult feeling to get a read on. You could spend all your livelong days telling a kid how grateful they should feel, but are you really going to get an emotional response out of them? Enter literature. Books. Learning. On Twitter today I saw an article in passing that suggested that we learn how to be human through books. If that’s the case then let me read Town Is by the Sea to my kids one more time. Exquisitely rendered, it’s a subtle day-in-the-life title that through the repetition of the text, and the pairing of light and dark images, manages to show, not tell, how hard the life of a coal miner’s kid can be.
“From my house, I can see the sea.” A boy narrates a typical day in a Cape Breton mining town. While he scampers up the hills, plays with his friend, swings, walks to the store, and admires the sunlight on the water, his father toils away beneath the sea in a coal mine. The boy narrates for us how his days tend to play out and though we seem to see what looks like a collapse in the mine, nothing changes the boy’s spritely text. He’s no more excited than usual when his father comes home, but we know how close the man came to death. As the boy drifts off for the night we are assured that one day, down in those deep dark tunnels, “it will be my turn.” And the cycle of mining will begin anew.
I love a picture book that knows how to be a picture book. Joanne Schwartz has been in this game for years and you can tell (and the fact that she’s a double threat as both author and children’s librarian probably doesn’t hurt matters either). The choice use of repetition and simple lines lend the text this oddly comforting quality, even as some of the images grow increasingly suspect. The fact that the book is narrated in the first person present tense is a careful choice. In the voice of the boy you discovered that in the face of uncertainty (whether or not his dad will come home alive at the end of the day) the boy has organized his life precisely. The location of his house to the road, cliff, sea, and town. A catalog of sounds heard when he wakes up. The form of the boy’s morning, lunch, and walk to the store. And these words are so constant and comforting to the reader that when you hit on that silent two-page spread, not knowing if the dad is alive or dead, it’s a gut punch. Artist Sydney Smith is also on board with the boy's systematic cataloging, turning the bright days of summer into six distinct squares on the penultimate pages, finalizing everything with the black of the sea at night.
For such a dark concept it’s not a dark book. When my husband and I read this book to our six-year-old and three-year-old they seemed more intrigued by the fact that a kid could walk by himself to the store (this is the 50s’ after all) than the fact that someday that boy will work all day in the claustrophobic dark below the sea. Indeed I was intrigued to find that the chilling final lines of the picture book sink far deeper into the psyches of the adults reading this book than the kids. But I like that Joanne Schwartz does not judge the workers or the town. The inevitability of becoming a miner isn’t delivered by the young protagonist with anything more than simple honesty. Just listen to those final lines: “I’m a miner’s son. In my town, that’s the way it goes.” The dread I felt when he alluded to his future was purely personal, helped in no small part by Schwartz & Smith’s clever pairing of sunlight and gloom throughout the book. You might not want to work down there, but when your future is set in stone it’s hard to think outside the box. There’s a quote that Schwartz includes in her Author’s Note from Robert McIntosh’s Boys in the Pits: Child Labour in the Coal Mines that summarizes this perfectly. “The boy may have seen for years his father and older brothers leave for the pit. For most boys raised within these communities, the day arrived when they too surrendered their childhood to it.”
Toronto artist Sydney Smith first came to the notice of a lot of American children’s librarians when he illustrated JonArno Lawson’s sublime Sidewalk Flowers. Smith captured the tone of the book so beautifully that had he any American residency at all that title would have been a true Caldecott Award contender. In “Town Is by the Sea” Smith stretches his proverbial limbs. Interestingly, he doesn’t dwell on the industrial grit and grime of the coal mines. The image of the industrial site is almost rudimentary and down in the mines themselves he’s far more interested in conveying the sheer oppressive weight of the rock and the sea by placing the workers in the lowest strata of the page. The bulk of the book is far more interested in light. How it fogs the horizon in the morning so that the line between sea and sky blurs to white. How a midday sun flecks the tips of the waves out at sea a pure white. Early afternoon sunlight through windowpanes and the sparkle of sun on sea and that sunset . . . that sunset. Though the Author’s Note at the end mentions that this book is set in the 1950s, you wouldn’t necessarily notice. There’s a timeless quality to these watercolors.
To feel gratitude for one’s life, one needs to start out in a pretty privileged position from the start. If there’s nothing to feel grateful for then you’re probably not going to start because of a picture book. Still, a lot of kids in America that have regular access to picture books should feel a little gratitude for the fact that they don’t have to work in the coal mines when they turn 18. You get the feeling from the boy in Town Is by the Sea that he is perfectly aware of how lucky he is to see the sun shining on the sea all day every day. Schwartz and Smith have created a book that is both a good story and a beautiful object. A book that grants dignity to its characters and a seriousness to its subject matter without sacrificing a child’s need for play. This is, in short, a magnificent book. The kind that every reader will interpret in a different way. Only the best books can do that. Only the best books are capable.
For ages 4-9.
“From my house, I can see the sea.” A boy narrates a typical day in a Cape Breton mining town. While he scampers up the hills, plays with his friend, swings, walks to the store, and admires the sunlight on the water, his father toils away beneath the sea in a coal mine. The boy narrates for us how his days tend to play out and though we seem to see what looks like a collapse in the mine, nothing changes the boy’s spritely text. He’s no more excited than usual when his father comes home, but we know how close the man came to death. As the boy drifts off for the night we are assured that one day, down in those deep dark tunnels, “it will be my turn.” And the cycle of mining will begin anew.
I love a picture book that knows how to be a picture book. Joanne Schwartz has been in this game for years and you can tell (and the fact that she’s a double threat as both author and children’s librarian probably doesn’t hurt matters either). The choice use of repetition and simple lines lend the text this oddly comforting quality, even as some of the images grow increasingly suspect. The fact that the book is narrated in the first person present tense is a careful choice. In the voice of the boy you discovered that in the face of uncertainty (whether or not his dad will come home alive at the end of the day) the boy has organized his life precisely. The location of his house to the road, cliff, sea, and town. A catalog of sounds heard when he wakes up. The form of the boy’s morning, lunch, and walk to the store. And these words are so constant and comforting to the reader that when you hit on that silent two-page spread, not knowing if the dad is alive or dead, it’s a gut punch. Artist Sydney Smith is also on board with the boy's systematic cataloging, turning the bright days of summer into six distinct squares on the penultimate pages, finalizing everything with the black of the sea at night.
For such a dark concept it’s not a dark book. When my husband and I read this book to our six-year-old and three-year-old they seemed more intrigued by the fact that a kid could walk by himself to the store (this is the 50s’ after all) than the fact that someday that boy will work all day in the claustrophobic dark below the sea. Indeed I was intrigued to find that the chilling final lines of the picture book sink far deeper into the psyches of the adults reading this book than the kids. But I like that Joanne Schwartz does not judge the workers or the town. The inevitability of becoming a miner isn’t delivered by the young protagonist with anything more than simple honesty. Just listen to those final lines: “I’m a miner’s son. In my town, that’s the way it goes.” The dread I felt when he alluded to his future was purely personal, helped in no small part by Schwartz & Smith’s clever pairing of sunlight and gloom throughout the book. You might not want to work down there, but when your future is set in stone it’s hard to think outside the box. There’s a quote that Schwartz includes in her Author’s Note from Robert McIntosh’s Boys in the Pits: Child Labour in the Coal Mines that summarizes this perfectly. “The boy may have seen for years his father and older brothers leave for the pit. For most boys raised within these communities, the day arrived when they too surrendered their childhood to it.”
Toronto artist Sydney Smith first came to the notice of a lot of American children’s librarians when he illustrated JonArno Lawson’s sublime Sidewalk Flowers. Smith captured the tone of the book so beautifully that had he any American residency at all that title would have been a true Caldecott Award contender. In “Town Is by the Sea” Smith stretches his proverbial limbs. Interestingly, he doesn’t dwell on the industrial grit and grime of the coal mines. The image of the industrial site is almost rudimentary and down in the mines themselves he’s far more interested in conveying the sheer oppressive weight of the rock and the sea by placing the workers in the lowest strata of the page. The bulk of the book is far more interested in light. How it fogs the horizon in the morning so that the line between sea and sky blurs to white. How a midday sun flecks the tips of the waves out at sea a pure white. Early afternoon sunlight through windowpanes and the sparkle of sun on sea and that sunset . . . that sunset. Though the Author’s Note at the end mentions that this book is set in the 1950s, you wouldn’t necessarily notice. There’s a timeless quality to these watercolors.
To feel gratitude for one’s life, one needs to start out in a pretty privileged position from the start. If there’s nothing to feel grateful for then you’re probably not going to start because of a picture book. Still, a lot of kids in America that have regular access to picture books should feel a little gratitude for the fact that they don’t have to work in the coal mines when they turn 18. You get the feeling from the boy in Town Is by the Sea that he is perfectly aware of how lucky he is to see the sun shining on the sea all day every day. Schwartz and Smith have created a book that is both a good story and a beautiful object. A book that grants dignity to its characters and a seriousness to its subject matter without sacrificing a child’s need for play. This is, in short, a magnificent book. The kind that every reader will interpret in a different way. Only the best books can do that. Only the best books are capable.
For ages 4-9.
October 14, 2019
A kind of portrait of a coal miner’s son in a Cape Breton town illustrated with a lovely dark palette by Sydney Smith. The boy is a coal miner's grandson and coal miner's son and he expects to be a coal miner himself. It's what his family does. Living by the sea is lovely, but the men dig for coal in a mine underneath the sea, and almost never see it during the daylight. The boy's grandfather asked to be buried in a plot overlooking the water since he had spent so much of his life underground. We follow the boy in his day, which includes visiting his grandfather's grave. Understated, thoughtful, sweetly sad.
You can see some of it and hear Smith talk a bit about it and how he shares the book with children in classrooms and libraries in this fine review:
https://mattobin.blogspot.com/2018/06...
You can see some of it and hear Smith talk a bit about it and how he shares the book with children in classrooms and libraries in this fine review:
https://mattobin.blogspot.com/2018/06...
December 18, 2017
Beautiful illustrations by Sydney Smith and a rare look at the world of a working-class little boy who is aware that he is expected to follow the other men in his family into work as a coal-miner.
April 1, 2020
Bằng những hình minh họa tuyệt đẹp, cuốn sách đã khắc họa trọn vẹn một ngày như bao ngày khác của một cậu bé sống ở Cape Breton, Canada – một thị trấn bên bờ biển nơi cha cậu là công nhân đào mỏ than ở sâu dưới lòng biển. Nhiều người sẽ có cảm giác lời kể chuyện, cũng như bản thân câu chuyện, không có gì thực sự đặc sắc, vì nó chỉ là sự liệt kê những hoạt động diễn ra trong một ngày của cậu bé, cùng sự miêu tả cảnh vật nơi cậu sống. Thế nhưng, đối với cá nhân mình, chính sự khắc họa một ngày bình thường như bao ngày khác ấy của cậu bé, cùng với hình ảnh người cha lầm lũi đào than sâu dưới lòng biển khơi cứ lặp đi lặp lại – tông màu đen u tối tương phản với những hình ảnh sáng màu hơn của đứa con trai – đã làm nổi bật được cái vòng tuần hoàn không bao giờ chấm dứt, một “vicious cycle” đã ăn sâu vào nhiều thế hệ người dân ở Cape Breton.
Đời cha làm thợ mỏ rồi tới đời con cũng thế, một di sản truyền đời nhưng có lẽ cũng chính nó là tác nhân đã giam giữ biết bao cuộc đời thanh niên ở lại chốn này, bán mặt bán lưng cho những mỏ than, hàng ngày phải lam lũ vì miếng cơm manh áo, lại còn phải đối mặt với rủi ro tai nạn nghề nghiệp, không bao giờ có thể bứt ra được khỏi số phận đã định sẵn cho những ai đã trót sinh ra ở Cape Breton… Và quan trọng là, cậu bé trong truyện đã chấp nhận số phận ấy như một điều hiển nhiên. “Rồi một ngày kia, sẽ đến lượt tôi.” Đọc mà buồn cho những thế hệ trẻ em và thanh niên như cậu bé, những cuộc đời non nớt lớn lên chỉ để rốt cuộc bước chân vào chính những nơi cha ông các em đã bước chân vào… Có thể có một tương lai nào khác cho những đứa trẻ như thế?...
Mặc dù mình nắm được dụng ý của phần lời quyển sách, nhưng nếu lời văn và bản thân câu chuyện được kể một cách sâu sắc hơn nữa, gây tác động mạnh hơn nữa vào tâm thức của người đọc, thì có lẽ mình đã cho quyển này 5 sao tròn rồi. Dù sao thì đây vẫn là picture book, và mình vẫn chú trọng đánh giá phần hình ảnh nhiều hơn. Mà hình ảnh minh họa của cuốn này thì như mình đã nói ở trên, đẹp vô cùng luôn ấy <3 <3 <3
Đời cha làm thợ mỏ rồi tới đời con cũng thế, một di sản truyền đời nhưng có lẽ cũng chính nó là tác nhân đã giam giữ biết bao cuộc đời thanh niên ở lại chốn này, bán mặt bán lưng cho những mỏ than, hàng ngày phải lam lũ vì miếng cơm manh áo, lại còn phải đối mặt với rủi ro tai nạn nghề nghiệp, không bao giờ có thể bứt ra được khỏi số phận đã định sẵn cho những ai đã trót sinh ra ở Cape Breton… Và quan trọng là, cậu bé trong truyện đã chấp nhận số phận ấy như một điều hiển nhiên. “Rồi một ngày kia, sẽ đến lượt tôi.” Đọc mà buồn cho những thế hệ trẻ em và thanh niên như cậu bé, những cuộc đời non nớt lớn lên chỉ để rốt cuộc bước chân vào chính những nơi cha ông các em đã bước chân vào… Có thể có một tương lai nào khác cho những đứa trẻ như thế?...
Mặc dù mình nắm được dụng ý của phần lời quyển sách, nhưng nếu lời văn và bản thân câu chuyện được kể một cách sâu sắc hơn nữa, gây tác động mạnh hơn nữa vào tâm thức của người đọc, thì có lẽ mình đã cho quyển này 5 sao tròn rồi. Dù sao thì đây vẫn là picture book, và mình vẫn chú trọng đánh giá phần hình ảnh nhiều hơn. Mà hình ảnh minh họa của cuốn này thì như mình đã nói ở trên, đẹp vô cùng luôn ấy <3 <3 <3
November 23, 2020
শব্দে মানুষের চিন্তা আঁকা থাকে বহু বছর, জরিষ্ণু বনাত হয়ে সেসব ঝুলে থাকে চারপাশে। "জায়া" এমনই একটা শব্দ; এর অর্থ স্ত্রী, আক্ষরিক অর্থ হচ্ছে যার ভেতর দিয়ে পুরুষ আবার জন্মায়। নিজের পুত্রকে নিজেরই নতুন সংস্করণ ভাবার এ প্রবণতা হয়তো বৈশ্বিক, কিন্তু তার ছাপ অন্য ভাষার বনাতে হয়তো আঁকা হয়নি। কিন্তু বাবাকে কি কেউ নিজের ভবিষ্যৎ সংস্করণ ভাবে? কোথাও কোনো ভাষায় কি বাবার প্রতিশব্দে সে চিন্তার ছাপ আছে? কথাগুলো মাথায় এলো বইটা পড়ে, কারণ এর পাতায় পাতায় এক বালক তার বাবাকে নিজের ভবিষ্যৎ হিসেবে বারবার দেখে। সূর্য, সমুদ্র, নোনা বাতাস তাকে পদে পদে মনে করিয়ে দেয়, তার বাবা খানিক দূরে কয়লাখনিতে কাজ করছে, যা কি না ঘুরেফিরে কয়েক বছরের ব্যবধান টপকে নিজেকেই দেখা। মোটা তুলির মোটা টানে আঁকা কাঁচা ছবিগুলো এ গল্পের রসে মজে পাকা হয়ে ওঠে খানিক পরই। লেখা আর আঁকায় মিলে অসামান্য।
জেফ ল্যমায়ারের 'দ্য আন্ডারওয়াটার ওয়েল্ডার'-এর কথা মনে পড়ে গেলো।
জেফ ল্যমায়ারের 'দ্য আন্ডারওয়াটার ওয়েল্ডার'-এর কথা মনে পড়ে গেলো।
April 14, 2018
This is a simple story of how a Cape Breton boy spends his day in the village by the sea, contrasted with his own father's day spent mining coal. Even with its dark, dreary palette, this is a strikingly beautiful book.
A lovely portrait of a childhood in times before the internet.
A lovely portrait of a childhood in times before the internet.
November 1, 2017
A boy's day. He wakes up, plays with a friend, goes to the store for his mother, and visits his grandfather's grave. Throughout the day, he looks at the sea and thinks of his father, a miner who digs under the sea.
A moving story about mining families. Beautifully illustrated.
A moving story about mining families. Beautifully illustrated.
July 3, 2017
The artwork is stunning. The story is a bit too long but lovely.
September 4, 2017
3.5 out of 5
Town Is by the Sea manages to be both quietly beautiful and depressingly fatalistic. Joanne Schwartz's laconic, matter-of-fact, and somewhat repetitive text is oddly comforting, while the story's depth and mixed emotions are revealed through Sydney Smith's masterfully paced illustrations that often are worth a thousand words. The contrast between the images of the stunningly realistic sea at different points throughout the day and the claustrophobic mines is especially jarring:
Town Is by the Sea manages to be both quietly beautiful and depressingly fatalistic. Joanne Schwartz's laconic, matter-of-fact, and somewhat repetitive text is oddly comforting, while the story's depth and mixed emotions are revealed through Sydney Smith's masterfully paced illustrations that often are worth a thousand words. The contrast between the images of the stunningly realistic sea at different points throughout the day and the claustrophobic mines is especially jarring:
April 24, 2024
Such a bleak and depressing look at life in a coal-mining town in Canada in the 1950s.
If you need an antidote afterward, try Homer Hickam Jr.'s Rocket Boys or the movie adapted from it, October Sky.
If you need an antidote afterward, try Homer Hickam Jr.'s Rocket Boys or the movie adapted from it, October Sky.
June 8, 2018
Seagulls call out on the shore wind and the fine mist spray of the restless sea hits us: white breakers captured in an endless wash against the cliff-slide of a small mining town in 1950s' Nova Scotia. So begins Schwartz’s and Smith’s ballad Town is by the Sea a mesmerising, dream-like ballad to a place enslaved to time and a dangerous history lost beneath the strata. Full review here
October 9, 2018
This book was being used in a year 3/4 class on my placement. I loved this book for using with the class. There are so many messages in it of family and tradition alongside an innocent child. The author is creative in their writing and the description along with the drawings makes for a very powerful story. I would definitely recommend this book.
January 7, 2019
All good children's books can be read on two levels, and so can this one.
On one level, you have a simple story of a boy, in the Summer, going about his usual day of getting up, going out to play, and running errands for his mother, and having dinner with his father.
But underneath it all is the coal mine, both figurativly and literally. With each comment he makes abouat his day, he mentions that is where his father is, and we see him, down in the mines, working away, and almost being buried.
One one level it is sweet. On the other level it is ad that one day too, this boy will go to work the mines, because that is what he does, what the males in his family have always done.
On one level, you have a simple story of a boy, in the Summer, going about his usual day of getting up, going out to play, and running errands for his mother, and having dinner with his father.
But underneath it all is the coal mine, both figurativly and literally. With each comment he makes abouat his day, he mentions that is where his father is, and we see him, down in the mines, working away, and almost being buried.
One one level it is sweet. On the other level it is ad that one day too, this boy will go to work the mines, because that is what he does, what the males in his family have always done.
November 17, 2017
I enjoyed the contrast of the dark enclosed space of the mines versus the wide open airiness of the ocean. I also felt sad and wished for more for the boy than the legacy of the mines.
June 25, 2018
After my first reading of this book I came away enjoying what I had seen and read. However, it was not until I had read the book for a second and third time that I was truly mesmerised.
Firstly, it must be acknowledged that this is a beautiful book with beautiful illustrations and beautiful words. I really enjoyed reading this book- it was simple but this did not take away from the impact of what I had read.
When I realised just how important mining is to the characters, this town and the author I was hit with a feeling of recognition and admiration. I interpreted this little town by the sea to be almost stuck in an endless loop- the cyclical nature of the narrative itself alongside the pattern of life within the story really shone out to me.
I really admire the way Schwartz choose to write this story with the main character anticipating what his future might bring. It was flawlessly accompanied by Smith’s illustrations which highlight even more about the story.
Even though I have no links in my life to mining I was able to relate to the book and I believe children will too. From the broken swings at the playground, lost family members and the repetitive nature of the day. I would be really interested to hear children’s opinions on this book and I believe they would also take a lot of value away from it.
Firstly, it must be acknowledged that this is a beautiful book with beautiful illustrations and beautiful words. I really enjoyed reading this book- it was simple but this did not take away from the impact of what I had read.
When I realised just how important mining is to the characters, this town and the author I was hit with a feeling of recognition and admiration. I interpreted this little town by the sea to be almost stuck in an endless loop- the cyclical nature of the narrative itself alongside the pattern of life within the story really shone out to me.
I really admire the way Schwartz choose to write this story with the main character anticipating what his future might bring. It was flawlessly accompanied by Smith’s illustrations which highlight even more about the story.
Even though I have no links in my life to mining I was able to relate to the book and I believe children will too. From the broken swings at the playground, lost family members and the repetitive nature of the day. I would be really interested to hear children’s opinions on this book and I believe they would also take a lot of value away from it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 23, 2020
This book is equally beautiful and depressive!
November 2, 2021
Such a sad beautiful book
January 8, 2018
A lovely book exploring the life of a son of a miner who must follow within his footsteps. Beautiful images supported by effective underlying picturebook codes to promote high-quality discussion throughout the story.
November 27, 2017
Full of sensory details, a little boy describes a day in his life in a small, coastal, coal mining town. Will those not living by the ocean or without knowledge of coal mining enjoy this book with a quiet beauty of its own?
July 9, 2018
A powerful picturebook giving insight into the life of a young miner’s son who, inevitably, will end up working in the mines too. It gives a great impression of entrapment and repetition that defines the young boys life, and indeed the lives of many other children around the world today.
Schwartz’s writing is bleak and Smith’s illustrations are beautifully stark which helps craft this tale. Time spent with this book only enhances the experience, the subtleties of the rich illustrations for example (eg. the ever-present sea which indicates how much control it has over the family) requires great attention.
A must-have in the classroom, not only if based in miner town, as children from all backgrounds can relate to such family pressure.
Schwartz’s writing is bleak and Smith’s illustrations are beautifully stark which helps craft this tale. Time spent with this book only enhances the experience, the subtleties of the rich illustrations for example (eg. the ever-present sea which indicates how much control it has over the family) requires great attention.
A must-have in the classroom, not only if based in miner town, as children from all backgrounds can relate to such family pressure.
December 4, 2021
Childhood memories. Rhythms of life. Light and dark.
Read
July 22, 2023عن أرض يحيطها البحر من كل الجهات فلا مهرب من رؤيته، يروي طفل حياته في هذه القرية، وعمل والده في المنجم، وكيف أنه يومًا ما، سيصبح عاملًا في المنجم مثله، حتى إن لم يرغب بذلك، تجد -من أسلوب الراوي وطريقة عرض القصة- أن الحياة هناك رتيبة متكررة، ويمكنك أن تلاحظ أن الراوي لا يرغب أن يصير كوالده ويتمنى شيئًا مختلفًا، شيئًا ليس رتيبًا ولا متكررًا.
الرسومات وأ��لوب السرد غاية في العذوبة والرقة، صوَّر المؤلف حياة ومشاعر فئة معينة واوصلها بدقة عجيبة، عمل استثنائي!
April 17, 2017
It goes like this:
Read. This. Book. :-)
(Lovely. Perfect for sequencing. Perfect for lots of things.) 💛
Read. This. Book. :-)
(Lovely. Perfect for sequencing. Perfect for lots of things.) 💛
October 19, 2018
I like this book because it involves some sequencing, for example, 'when I wake up it goes like this...... first I hear the seagulls, then I hear a dog barking..'. I feel the use of sequencing in the text would enable children to create meaning from it because they would be able to similarly talk about their daily routine and share these with others, this also puts the text into a context. The images in the text are clearly created to represent the words in the text. I like how some of the images in the text are illustrated in the same format as a comic strip, for example, the illustrations of the boys on the swings are drawn in steps to show the actions of the characters, this again links back to sequencing events. I also like how the author regularly refers back to the sea because they talk about the sea in a range of contexts which creates an image of the environment and also how the boy perceives the sea as a relevant aspect to his town. The author regularly repeats the phrase 'and deep down under that sea, my father is digging for coal'- I think the author is trying to remind the reader about the history of mining and to educate children about the work of a miner. This could be a cross curricular link from English to history because children could learn about communities and the history of mining.
The story is told through the use of characters, the main character (a boy) tells the story about his town and what happens during his day at the key points (morning, lunch, afternoon, supper and night time). Throughout the text there seems to be a repetitive structure, it seems that the author begins with the main character telling the story about his events during a part of the day, then it moves on to a mini description/ some information about the sea's appearance and finally the author refers to the father of the boy working beneath the sea. This seems to be a common structure of the book which I found interesting to read because it made me look out for the patterns and pick out key events. I particularly like the ending of the story because it links all the messages from the story together with the phrases 'One day it will be my turn' 'I'm a miners son'. For me this made me think about the idea of children following in the footsteps of their parents in terms of career pathways. I think this could be an interesting discussion to have in the classroom because it would enable children to think about the future and what they would like to do.
The story is told through the use of characters, the main character (a boy) tells the story about his town and what happens during his day at the key points (morning, lunch, afternoon, supper and night time). Throughout the text there seems to be a repetitive structure, it seems that the author begins with the main character telling the story about his events during a part of the day, then it moves on to a mini description/ some information about the sea's appearance and finally the author refers to the father of the boy working beneath the sea. This seems to be a common structure of the book which I found interesting to read because it made me look out for the patterns and pick out key events. I particularly like the ending of the story because it links all the messages from the story together with the phrases 'One day it will be my turn' 'I'm a miners son'. For me this made me think about the idea of children following in the footsteps of their parents in terms of career pathways. I think this could be an interesting discussion to have in the classroom because it would enable children to think about the future and what they would like to do.
September 16, 2020
A beautiful and poetic picture book written from the perspective of a young boy who lives by the sea. His father works in the coal mines, a theme which is repeated throughout. I really liked this repetition- to me the repetition of the line ‘deep under the sea is where my father digs for coal’ perhaps signifies the innocence and lack of understanding the boy has for what his father does. Would be great to use cross curricular linking to History and PSHE (family relationships). I found the book really calming and lots could be done linked to the senses- particularly what we can hear and see e.g. seagulls, dogs barking, sound of a car, slamming door and yells.
April 3, 2024
Omg, the sparkling sea... that spread alone justifies the choice of illustrator imo. But the book is about what it was like to be a miner's child, destined to be a miner, destined to a grave before having a chance to know one's grandchildren... and that, too, is shown effectively in text and in art.
The only quibble I have is that this takes place in the 1950s. Families, please do not be complacent and think that this represents the bad old days. There is still dirty, dangerous work that saps a person's strength being done around the world. Often by teens. Think of the sweatshop labor that makes your cheap 'fast fashion' for example.
The only quibble I have is that this takes place in the 1950s. Families, please do not be complacent and think that this represents the bad old days. There is still dirty, dangerous work that saps a person's strength being done around the world. Often by teens. Think of the sweatshop labor that makes your cheap 'fast fashion' for example.
October 7, 2020
This story is very simple, yet can have many different messages embedded within it. Town is by the sea is a story told from the perspective of a young boy about his life by the sea. There is constant repetition and reference to his father who is a coal miner. We don't learn much more about what his father does as a coal miner which could also be a reflection of how little the boy himself knows about his father's job. What I loved most about this book is the illustrations and how they add depth to the story.
October 30, 2020
I could literally stare at this book for hours. These illustrations are incredibly gorgeous, simple, and wide open as the sea described in the book. This is the story of a mining town, and it's not without danger. I have literally taken pictures of these illustrations so I can send them to everyone I know. Oh my word. This is one of those children's books I'll be buying for myself.
August 15, 2021
"I'm a miner's son. In my town, that's the way it goes."
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