about the book
“In a fishing village by the sea / there is a small house.”
While at sea, a Vietnamese fisherman is thinking of his home. The warm, bright fire would be nice right about now; so would the soup simmering on the fire. But most of all, the fisherman longs for his wife and baby.
The picture he carries of them can’t replace being with them.
With dark clouds rolling in, will the fisherman get home safely or will the waves be too much for his boat?
about the author
At nine months old, Muon Van fled Vietnam in her grandfather’s fishing boat as part of the mass exodus of “boat people”. Her father captained the boat all the way to Hong Kong. From there, Muon’s family immigrated to the United States.
They lived in Galveston, Texas, and Honolulu, Hawaii—both cities by the sea, just like her ancestral home in Central Vietnam.
Today, Muon lives in Northern California with her family where she is a “chewy chocolate chip cookie baker and cordless vacuum operator.”
Sources:
Author biography: Creston Books
Author biography: KidsReads
Author interview: YA Books Central
Curriculum Guide for In a Village by the Sea
Also by Muon Van:
The Little Tree. Creston Books. 2015.
about the illustrator
One of April Chu’s earliest memories of drawing is the time she drew an old man sitting on a stool. She couldn’t believe how lifelike he was! Plus, her grandma immediately asked her mom, “Did you know your daughter can draw?”
After school every day, April loved watching cartoons and animated movies. She’s definitely watched Disney’s Sleeping Beauty over 300 times! While watching, she practiced drawing the characters so she could rewrite the story her way.
If she could, she’d invent a teleportation machine. She’s always late to everything! But, even if the machine worked, April thinks she’d still manage to be late…
April was an architect, holding degree from the University of California Berkeley, but in 2012 she decided to pursue her dream of illustrating. She’s never looked back.
She lives in Oakland, California.
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator inverview: Author Turf
Also by April Chu:
Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Wallmark. Creston Books. 2015.
Summoning the Phoenix : Poems and Prose about Chinese Musical Instruments by Emily Jiang. Shens Books. 2013.
read more!
The Little Tree by Muon Van
Living in a forest that’s getting smaller and smaller because of humans, Little Tree is worried about the life her Little Seed will have. Can she make the hardest decision of all and let Little Seed find a better life on her own?
My Two Blankets by Irena Kobald
After Cartwheel moves to a new country with her auntie, everything is strange—the animals, the plants, and the language. The only comfort she has is an old blanket. Will this strange place ever feel familiar and safe?
The Quiet Place by Sarah Stewart
When Isabel and her family moves to the U.S., she misses hearing Spanish, especially from her Auntie Lupita. Isabel writes twelve letters to Auntie Lupita, and gradually realizes that she is finding fun things about America—like snow, a teacher with a big smile, and an empty refrigerator box that has become her quiet place of refuge.