My Father's Boat

by Ted Garland

A Vietnamese American and his son spend the day on their shrimp boat and dream about the grandfather who owns his own boat and makes his livelihood the same way on the other side of the globe.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens

40 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Carmen Falcone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt and poignant.

I was reading this to my first grader and was so touched.

[Chance Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to two girls at the library. The illustrations are stunning. The story, a poignant tale of longing for family one has been separated from, almost made me cry. One of the girls said it was too long.

[Brittany Dalziel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: Overall I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations are exquisite and the rich language make the book really interesting. The author's use of imagery throughout the book makes my feel like I am one of the characters in the story, out on a boat fishing with them. The downside of the book was that there wasn't much of a plot.

Purpose:
-To be read aloud to grades K-2
-The purpose of the book is for enrichment and enjoyment. For the same reasons of my personal reaction to it, the beautiful double page illustrations and the use of imagery would definitely appeal to children.
-This book is full of rich language and vocabulary that provide a great opportunity for children to be exposed to and enrich their vocabulary and learn new words as well as synonyms to words they already may know.
-In the sentence, "The whispering wind and slapping waves and the soft chug-chug of the engine are the only sounds around us.", is an example of personification, onomatopeia, as well as imagery.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Age: Kindergarten to third grade
Media: Black pencil, acrylic
Illustration Style: Vast spaces on the ocean, Delicate pictures intermixed with large depictions of oceanic life using watercolor and collage

Tale of a boy and father fishing at sea, a tradition that was passed down from the boy's grandfather who sent his son away during the war. Although there is no great climax, there is finality when the boy and father return home and reflect on the impact of their fathers. This book will be great for family-run businesses because it promotes the pride and excitement for a child to participate in his parent's business.

[Malissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language in this book is beautiful. Great mentor text for writing. it offers so much!

[Rima Halig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how this shows how a son spent quality time with his father and talk about his father's graet qualities.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of family, connections

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Vietnamese-American boy spends a day with his father on his shrimp boat, listening as he describes how his own father fishes on the South China Sea.