Tink: The Children of Crow Cove

The Children of Crow Cove #3

by Bodil Bredsdorff, Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard (Translator)

We first met Tink when he came to live in Crow Cove as a young boy in Eidi. Now hard times have come to the little settlement, and their food supply is dwindling. Tink, with the help of a newcomer to Crow Cove, saves his friends from starvation by learning how to fish--and also learns important lessons about the complexities of human nature, the importance of compassion, and his own valued place in his community. Tink is a strong new addition to the much-acclaimed Children of Crow series.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Juvenile, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Chapter Books, Middle Grade

144 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2011

About the author

Bodil Bredsdorff is a popular Danish children’s book author.

Reviews

[Emily]

Set at some unspecified point in an agrarian past (I am not sure if it is meant to be real or imagined), this series, translated from the Danish, chronicles the lives and hardships of a small group of people eking out an existence in a beautiful but unforgiving coastal hamlet. A great deal of the space in these slim books is taken up with the various ways in which the people gather and raise food and make plans to trade for the goods they cannot make themselves, which makes for oddly compelling reading, but the greater theme in the series is family. Who belongs in your family (the people you care about, not necessarily the ones you're related to), what your place in the family is, and what you can do to contribute, when is time to venture forth into the world and when it is time to return home. Like its predecessors, Tink, the latest book to be translated, is written in spare prose that flies by like a cool breeze. But in this book, the storyline is harsher. In the first two books, Crow Cove was very much a place of shelter and refuge for people who had been unfairly buffeted by life. In this book, some of the problems the characters thought they had escaped literally return to their doorsteps. I'm not sure I want to describe the plot further -- the book is so short that saying anything is almost saying too much. It is as thought-provoking and moving as the other books, perhaps in some ways more, just a bit more painful.

[Abigail]

In this third entry in her series of stories about the residents of Crow Cove - a remote seaside settlement, peopled by an odd assortment of friends and family, brought together by chance encounter, and remaining together by choice - Danish children's author Bodil Bredsdorff sets out the tale of Tink, the abused young boy rescued by the eponymous heroine of Eidi . Like Myna and Eidi, the protagonists of the first two books, Tink leaves Crow Cove, but unlike them, he doesn't get very far before circumstances lead him home again, with the drunken Burd - the abusive man from whom Foula and Eidi had escaped, in The Crow-Girl - in tow. Crow Cove isn't quite the haven here, the escape from the past, that it seemed in the earlier books, and the tension that ensues, as a result of the presence of this unwanted new resident, gives Tink an added poignancy.

There were themes explored in this book - alcoholism, and its effect, not just on the alcoholic, but on those around him; suicide, and the despair which leads to it - that cut to the bone, and that might be very difficult for some readers to encounter. I know that I myself found some of the events chronicled here deeply saddening, and am still thinking about them a week later. There is this moment, when Burd, speaking to Tink, says: "Remember that!... Order in your things, someone to care for, and a place to belong. Otherwise you become like a boat that drifts along without an anchor," that I think will stick with me for some time to come.

That said, I admire Bredsdorff immensely for her honesty, and her courage, in presenting the darker realities of the world which she has created, and for not sidestepping these topics as being somehow "inappropriate" in a children's book. Terrible things happen to children, and happen to the people around children, and that has to be reflected in their literature. Bredsdorff doesn't lose sight of that, and her simple, deeply felt narrative, for all that it is set in an unspecific locale, is grounded in a specific reality: that sometimes people get lost, drifting along like boats "without an anchor."

[Hilary]

This is the third volume of “The Children of Crow Cove” series. Readers were first introduced to Tink as a young boy in “Eidi.” In “Eidi,” Tink was rescued by the heroine, Eidi, and joined the residents of Crow Cove, an isolated seaside settlement, peopled by an odd assortment of family and friends who find each other by chance, but remain together by choice. Readers will find themselves contemplating who belongs in their “family” (the folks you care about, not necessarily those who are relations) and what their place and contributions should be within that group.

"Order in your things, someone to care for, and a place to belong. Otherwise you become like a boat that drifts along without an anchor, " advises Burd, an abusive drunk, who brings Tink back to to the seaside town when Tink attempts to leave the village. Burd’s unasked for (and unwanted) presence in Crow Cove changes the balance of the small community. With a poor harvest, the village struggles to feed itself; Burd teaches Tink the rudiments of fishing, to stave off starvation.

Dark themes are explored: alcoholism and the effect on the alcoholic and those people around him as well as suicide and the despair feeding into it). Survival, and how social norms change during tough times, provide thought-provoking material for discussion. Readers will admire the hardiness and resourcefulness of the Danish people depicted here.

The brief volume, “Tink, “ is a spare, well-written story. “Tink,” can stand on its own, but is more satisfying when read in the order that the series was presented. Readers who have not read the previous two volumes (the other is “The Crow Girl”), will have difficulty picking up the characters’ back stories.

[Lynn]

I sit here in my air conditioned house in front of my computer with a glass of iced coffee and a tuna sandwich made from store bought bread and other ingredients and I do not think about how difficult life can be/used to be. Then along comes a book like this, a simple, spare story so beautifully written, that forces me out of my cushy existence and makes me take another look at the world around me.

Tink is the third book in The Children of the Crow Cove series, beautifully translated from the Danish by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard. Set on the rugged, desolate coast of Denmark, each book in this series looks at a different member of the small community of Crow Cove...the first, "The Crow-Girl", at the original inhabitant; the second, "Eidi", at the daughter of one of the newcomers and this, the third, at Tink, an adolescent boy, and an outsider.

It is helpful to have read the other two books in the series to fully understand all of the characters' parts in this one. However, "Tink" can be read as a stand alone. The main story line revolves around Tink and how his inadvertent rescue of Burd, a drunk, helps him find his place in the community. Burd tells him..."Order in your things, someone to care for, and a place to belong. Otherwise you become like a boat that drifts along without an anchor."

I know very little about Denmark or Northern Europe, for that matter, but I must admire the hardiness and resourcefulness of its people...all this from a tale that takes barely an hour to read.

Someone once said something like...a good book is one that makes you think...Certainly this one falls into that category.

[Linnae]

Tink has joined the tight-knit group at Crow Cove, but still feels like an outsider. Particularly when a mistake he made makes their already meager food supply dwindle even further. He's setting off to get away from his guilt, when he comes across a man on the road, barely alive. Setting aside his personal plans for the moment, he runs back to the Cove for help.

The man proves to be Foula's ex-husband, Burd. Even with all their past history, a place is made for him at Crow Cove, albeit a bit tenuous. Even with all his faults (and they are glaring), he has an invaluable skill--fishing--which he teaches to Tink. Soon the two are providing meat for both families at Crow Cove, and yet old habits die hard for Burd. And he's a mean drunk.

This was the most challenging of the series for me. I have mentioned already that these are not sweet books. This one brings in a villain from the first book, and we are shown more sides to him. I still didn't like him, but at the same time, he did save the people of the Cove from starving. Foula's continued kindness to him many times crossed the line into enabling, which was hard to see depicted, however realistic it might have been.

Burd verbally abuses just about everyone, but especially Tink and Foula. At times the abuse gets physical with Foula, when her new husband is off on a hunting trip. For those reading this to a child, please be aware that Burd hangs himself toward the end of the book, and it is Tink who finds him. The scene is not gory, but it is fully described and not shied away from.

Some pretty heavy themes for such a slight book.

[Carrie Dye]

Tink is the 3rd book in “The children of Crow cove series,” about a small Danish community. Young Tink has been taken in by the people of Crow Cove. When their food supply dwindles down to almost nothing, Tink blames himself for accidently allowing the sheep into their food supply. He decides to leave, but doesn’t get far when he finds a man (Burd) in bad shape on the road. He makes the moral choice to return the Crow Cove to get this man some help. He saves his life, but discovers he has a history of violence and drunkenness. Still the community takes Burd in. In spite of Burd’s bad behavior he contributes to the community by teaching Tink to fish and provide food for the community. Tink continues to develop a relationship with Burd, even has he spirals downs. The harshness of life in this community is not downplayed, but compassion and the importance of belonging come through in the story. Readers will probably want to read the first two books (Crow girl and Eidi) to feel the full impact and understand the family connections. The book is aimed toward ages 9-12, but includes adult situations.

[Reader]

This is the third book in Bredsdorff's Crow Cove series (I read the first years ago). A Danish translation, this particular entry follows a boy named Tink as he and some other people struggle to live and eat on the coast, in spite of the recent failure of their potato crop. While there a drunkard from their past appears, and though he has changed very little, he teaches Tink the rudiments of fishing along the cover, help to stave off the people's starvation. The language is lovely and the setting evocative but if you haven't read the other books then you'll definitely be out to sea with this one. Big revelations are revealed on what feels like every other page, and won't make so much as a dent in your reading unless you've devoured the previous books relatively recently. A nice book but it doesn't stand on its own. - B

[Kat Goldin]

Tink: The Children of Crow
This book is translated from Danish!
Map Black and white in the front prior to the text of the book to help with further understanding.
I have not read the first two installments of The Children of Crow, but will after this memorizing novel for upper elementary student or middle learners. This book is about survival and how society and social norms change when times are tough. The book is haunting at times and it is easy to get dragged down in the sad details of all the settlers. The lessons learned my Tink and the children can easily be discussed in a class and are just thought provoking for an independent reader.

[Katie Roseveare]

I liked it only because it touched on my Irish heritage and the way alcohol and survival has played a role in my family. I think i could use it if there were ever an appropriate time to discuss alcohol or drug addiction. It certainly covers issues including coming of age and self confidence and unusual upbringings. It was first published in Denmark in the 90's and just recently translated and published here in 2011.

[Melody]

Spare, affecting and real, this third book in the Crow Cove series is the sort of book that stays with one for a long time. There are plenty of great big real life issues here, laid out without mercy and without explanation, but with compassion. A lovely story, a splendid story in fact. Not a stand-alone, though- read them in order.

[Noah Letner]

another good read in the series.
simple yet captivating.

[Kim Upchurch]

Lots of hard subjects. Was a good read, there were spots I didn’t quite understand.

[Lissa]

Using his natural intuition to help people, Tink is taught and excels at fishing for Crow Cove. They survive another year and make alliances with each other.

[Jane G Meyer]

This book is harder for me to recommend than the earlier books in this series. Since I'm reading aloud to an 8-year-old, I found that in the moment I was editing several passages in the text. Much of this book focuses on the young boy Tink and his relationship with Burd, who struggles with drink and anger. I, as an adult, appreciated the themes, and pulled some goodness from the plot line, but I am not ready for my little one to pepper me with question after question if I were to read word for word some of the harder passages in the text.

The quiet, simple tone of Bredsdorff's writing is once again enchanting. I do love her style.