My Father's Boat - Softcover

Garland, Sherry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590478680 ISBN 13: 9780590478687

Publisher: Scholastic, 2002

Synopsis

Three generations of fishermen may be a world apart but they are united by their love of the sea.

The morning mist sits thick on the sea as a Vietnamese- American boy and his father climb onto their fishing boat. During the day, the father begins to teach his son how to haul in the shrimp that are so important to the family's livelihood. As the two work, the father's thoughts drift to his own father, half a world away, who works on a different kind of boat in the South China seas.

In lyrical prose, the author explores three generations of fishermen separated by time and place, but united by experience. Ted Rand's gorgeous watercolors capture their love of working on the water.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

From Garland (The Last Rainmaker, 1997, etc.), a treasure for readers to open again and again, for the beauty of the lyrical prose, and the powerful, bittersweet story of family love. Before sunrise, a Vietnamese immigrant and his son set out on a fishing boat to catch shrimp off the Texas coast. Evoked are the sounds and scent of the sea, the hard work of the fishermen, and the loving relationships between generations. The boy notices that ``it feels lonely, out on the sea, but my father says that is part of a fisherman's lifebeing alone with the ocean and sky and creatures living below, and alone with your memories.'' When they stop to eat cold rice and sip hot tea, the father sings songs he learned in Vietnam, and tells his son about his own fisherman father: ``He taught me all I am teaching you. But when the war came to our little village on the other side of the world, he could not leave the land he loved, and I could not stay.'' On the road home, the tired boy sleeps, dreaming ``that they are together: my grandfather, father, and Iout on the lonely sea in my father's beautiful boat.'' Acrylic and watercolor illustrations extend the mood of the story, from the fog-enshrouded first spread of sunrise to full daylight the following day, and endpapers of white gulls whirling against the magenta sky. Beautiful and compelling. (Picture book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4AA young boy and his father arrive at the dock before dawn to board their shrimp boat and head out to sea. During the day, the man reflects on his boyhood in Vietnam where his father is a fisherman. He promises the child that he will someday take him to meet his grandfather and the three of them will fish together in the South China Sea. The strong bond between father and son is gently revealed as they share their thoughts and hard work. The text flows effortlessly. The spectacular double-page watercolor and acrylic spreads are filled with the colors and moods of the ocean, from the fog-bound pier to the dazzling sunrise on the open water, to the daylight-filled scenes on the boat. Each page is a rich and varied feast for the eyes from vast horizons to close-up moments. Dolphins, jellyfish, gulls, and pelicans dance across the pages. As the boy describes his day, his cultural heritage is brought to life through words and pictures. Like Garland's The Lotus Seed (Harcourt, 1993), this is a thoughtful and loving family story.ACarol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0590478680
• ISBN 13: 9780590478687
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 40