Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea - Hardcover

Gloria Rand

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0735815399 ISBN 13: 9780735815391

Publisher: NorthSouth, 2001

Synopsis

Games of tag on the deck; swings tied to the masts; a floating farmyard filled with chickens and ducks and even a pig; exotic pets, including a mongoose, a monkey, a kangaroo; studying astronomy and celestial navigation under the stars and geography with firsthand visits all over the world. This was the childhood of the four Madsen children who made their home aboard a four-masted sailing bark that carried cargo in the 1800s. Based on the journal kept by Captain Madsen and his daughter Ena, the story of this seafaring family is brought to life for modern children by Gloria and Ted Rand. Culminating in a dramatic Christmas Eve storm at sea, this is at once a rousing adventure and an intriguing look at a unique lifestyle that will fascinate young and old alike.

About this title

About the Author:

Gloria Rand and Ted Rand have collaborated on several picture books for Holt, including ""Salty Dog"" and ""Prince William,""

From Publishers Weekly:

With emotional range and plenty of historical detail, this picture book follows four children who grow up sailing the oceans on the John Ena, a four-masted cargo ship for which their father is captain. Young Matilda narrates the days when "every morning we woke up far away from where we'd gone to sleep." Working from the journal of the Madsens, a real 19th-century seafaring family, the Rands (Baby in a Basket) pack the pages with remarkable facts. Balls bounce overboard, so Matilda and her siblings play catch on deck with beanbags instead. The family buys gifts for Christmas and birthdays months ahead of time on long voyages. And when the seas grow rough, they must tie furniture to the walls and secure it to the floor. The book carries readers from cheerful anecdotes about pets and games to a gripping description of the heroism of the children's parents when their ship broaches (rolls onto its side): "Neither of them showed any panic or fear, and that made us children feel brave, too." Skillfully drafted watercolor spreads often show action at an angle to convey the sense of the ship pitching on the waves, and suggest a life of constant motion. An afterword with period photographs describes the Madsens' post-oceangoing life. Even landlocked readers will feel the pull of the high seas in this suspenseful memoir. Ages 5-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: NorthSouth
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0735815399
• ISBN 13: 9780735815391
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Ted Rand