My Father's Boat - Hardcover

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.

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.