Tonight By Sea - Hardcover

Temple, Frances; Temple, F

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531068994 ISBN 13: 9780531068991

Publisher: Scholastic, 1995

Synopsis

As governmental brutality and poverty become unbearable, Paulie joins with others in her small Haitian village to help her uncle secretly build a boat they will use to try to escape to the United States

About this title

About the Author:

Frances Temple grew up in Virginia, France, and Vietnam. About her third book she wrote, "The Ramsay Scallop is about our need for adventure and motion, for throwing in with strangers, trusting and listening. The story began to take form in northern Spain along pilgrim trails; was fed by histories, stories, letters, by the testimony of a fourteenthcentury shepherd, by the thoughts of today's pilgrims. Concerns echo across years-clean water, good talk, risks welcomed, the search for a peaceful heart. Traveling in Elenor's shoes, I found out how strongly the tradition of pilgrimage continues."Ms. Temple received many honors during her distinguished career. Her other critically acclaimed books for young people include: FranceTaste of Salt A Story of Modern Haiti, winner of the 1993 Jane Addams Children's Book Award; Grab hands and Run, cited by SchoolLibrary journal as one of the Best Books of 1993; and Tonight, by Sea another novel set in Haiti.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9?Paulie has lived her entire life in the tiny Haitian community of Belle Fleuve with Grann Adeline and her uncle, the village coffin maker. By 1993, two years after the military overthrow of popularly elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Uncle is being kept all too busy burying victims of brute violence and starving children. He decides it is time to leave their beloved homeland and turns his talents to boat building. Paulie helps in the clandestine project, as do their neighbors, all of whom contribute supplies and support, hoping to secure passage on the completed vessel, aptly named Seek Life. In an action-packed escape, they set sail just as the macoutes are coming to confiscate the boat. This is a powerful novel that seeks to put a human face on the political and social turmoil within the troubled island nation. This is where Temple is at her best. In an elegant prose style, she captures the lyrical cadence of Creole speech and paints an affecting portrait of a proud, resourceful people trying to survive in the face of lawlessness and tyranny. She gets bogged down a bit in the discussions of social justice and the redistribution of wealth, which occasionally overwhelm the narrative. There are a few unbelievably fortuitous turns of events, but overall, Tonight, by Sea tells a compelling story that needs to be told. Whether these brave people indeed find life, or even shelter, on American soil remains to be seen.?Luann Toth, School Library Journal
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0531068994
• ISBN 13: 9780531068991
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160