A Year on Monhegan Island - Hardcover

Dean, Julia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395664764 ISBN 13: 9780395664766

Publisher: Ticknor and Fields, 1995

Synopsis

A full-color photoessay captures life among members of the close-knit community on Monhegan Island, a small island off the coast of Maine, from the tranquil isolation of their winters to the huge influx of tourists during the summer season.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 4-6-This island, 10 miles off the Maine coast, has sustained a way of life that appears to be the stuff of storybooks. The yearly cycle of life on Monhegan, which has a population of 75 in the winter and 600 (not counting tourists) in the summer, was observed and recorded in 1990. Inhabitants are shown and quoted, and historical information is tucked gracefully into the narrative. The history, politics, and future of the lobstering industry are given, with quotes from fourth generation lobstermen. Living on an island accessible only by boat is special for many reasons, and mainlanders often imagine it to be a romantic existence. That is partly true; but Dean's well-balanced realism and her excellent, full-color photographs give a true account without robbing readers of the fascination that would draw them to this subject in the first place.
Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-6. Photojournalist Dean chronicles the seasons on Monhegan Island, a small community off the coast of central Maine. Beginning with late fall, she describes how the few permanent inhabitants deal with their isolated life. Children attend a one-room school, fishermen prepare their lobster traps, and innkeepers ready their businesses for the next year. Winters are long and lonely, with mail and supplies arriving by ferry from the mainland only once a week. Spring brings fog and muddy roads as well as final preparations for the multitude of summer visitors. By Columbus Day all the tourists (as well as some of the merchants) have left, returning the island to its off-season quiet. Crisp, clear photos on nearly every page show many of the island's residents at work and play, as well as the natural beauty of Monhegan's craggy beaches and ancient forests. Aimed at a slightly older audience than Gail Gibbons' Surrounded by Sea (1991), this will be useful for geography units and fascinating for would-be visitors. Kay Weisman

Edition details

• Publisher: Ticknor and Fields
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395664764
• ISBN 13: 9780395664766
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 46