In a Village by the Sea

by Muon Van (Author) April Chu (Illustrator)

In a Village by the Sea
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Written in a spare, lyrical style using fresh, evocative imagery, In a Village by the Sea tells the story of longing for the comforts of home. A perfect book for teaching about diverse cultures and lifestyles through rich pictures and words, moving from the wide world to the snugness of home and back out again.

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Hardcover
$18.99

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Kirkus

Starred Review

The illustrations, with strong references to Chinese pen-and-ink landscapes and Japanese woodblock prints of the sea, will draw readers to this book again and again.

Copyright 2015 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Artist Chu (Summoning the Phoenix) and first-time author Van transport readers to a small seaside village. Opening with a scene of fishermen at work beside cliffs where a house is nestled ("In a fishing village by the sea/ there is a small house"), Van's circular, incantatory writing closes in on the house ("In that house, / high above the waves, / is a kitchen"), where a woman cooks, a dog explores, and a baby rests. Skillfully using a variety of visual perspectives, Chu's delicately detailed and colored illustrations invite close study; the fishermen's nets have a gauzy translucence, and papery garlic bulbs, veiny basil leaves, and softly glowing lanterns are all drawn with naturalistic care. As Van directs readers down a hole in the corner of the room, the story shifts into fantasy--beneath the floorboards, a cricket paints a majestic picture of a stormy sea, in which a fisherman (previously seen in the opening pages) longs to return to the woman and child in the hillside home. A lovely, resonant portrait of family life that hums with quiet magic. Ages 4-10. (June)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--This is a magical story set in Vietnam, with moody and emotive illustrations. With a classical storytelling structure and lyrical text, the narrative describes a fisherman at sea thinking of his home, as the images draw viewers in closer and closer, first to the house, then to the kitchen, and onward until finally they focus on a tiny brown cricket in a tiny hole painting a tiny picture of the very same fisherman at sea dreaming of home while waiting out a scary storm. The illustrations are lovely, with an amazing use of perspective, changing the viewpoint on every page and conveying the simple tale of a fisherman longing for the warm home, wife, baby, and dog that are waiting for him. The text pairs beautifully with the detail of the images, which offer plenty to pore over. VERDICT A delightful and quiet read that effectively evokes the book's setting.--Sharon McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes


"I absolutely love Village by the Sea! I think it will be a strong contender for awards. Our families love multicultural books, and it's extremely rare to find a good one with a Vietnamese setting."
—Kathy Balch, BookTree
Muon Van
Muon Van was born on the run in the southern port city of Rach Gia, Vietnam. When she was nine months old, she left Vietnam as part of the boat people mass exodus. She now lives in Northern California.

April Chu began her career as an architect with a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, but decided to return to her true passion of illustrating and storytelling. She recalls spending most of her childhood drawing whimsical characters in her notebook after school everyday, and she hasn't stopped drawing ever since. April currently lives and works in Oakland, CA. This is the second picture book she has illustrated. For more information, visit Aprilchu.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781939547156
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Creston Books
Publication date
May 12, 2015
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV030020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Asia
Library of Congress categories
Families
Homesickness
JUVENILE FICTION / People & Places / Asia
Cybils
Finalist 2015 - 2015
Georgia Children's Book Award
Finalist 2017 - 2017

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