The North Atlantic Coast: A Literary Field Guide (Stories from Where We Live)

Gathering the stories of people whose lives have adapted to the unique features of the North Atlantic coast, the book moves from Wampanoag Indians to eighteenth-century seafarers to contemporary teens.

Readers are invited to feel the throb and pulse of the surf as Helen Keller felt it, track an otter through a southern New Hampshire winter, harvest blueberries as the Micmac Indians once did, and join a young boy as he tries to save a lobster from the cooking pot. The lives of fishermen and women, of sailors lost in the fog, of a whale trapped in a pond in Newfoundland—all become richer and more memorable when woven into the fabric of literature.

The book is divided, as are all books in the series, into four sections: Adventures, Great Places, Reapers and Sowers, and Wild Lives. The treasure trove of stories, poems, journal entries, and essays about the region is followed by a brief natural history, including a list of areas to visit to experience the wilder side of the North Atlantic Coast region.

Gr. 5-8. The first volume in the new series Stories from Where We Live, this anthology presents stories, essays, folktales, journal entries, songs, and poems inspired by the places and people of the North Atlantic coast, from Newfoundland to Delaware. Notable authors represented include Henry David Thoreau, Farley Mowatt, and Nikki Giovanni, but relatively unknown writers contributed some of the most effective selections. For example, Jeff W. Bens' memorable story "The Legend of Big Claw," which takes places on Black Island in Rhode Island, tells of the capture of a legendary lobster. Put on display in the lobster tank of a seafood restaurant, Big Claw soon makes his escape, aided by sympathetic locals. Ink drawings illustrate many of the selections. Reflecting themes in the writing, the pictures most often focus on elements of the natural world. This attractive anthology will be of particular interest to those who live in the North Atlantic region. Carolyn Phelan
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