Wonderful art and poetical words. ( )

Gorgeous illustrations, and a quiet, spare story. Just lovely, and I appreciate the unfamiliar (to me) interiors. ( )

While a mother and child - not to mention the family dog and an artistic cricket! - wait in a small house by the sea in this lovely picture-book, their fisherman husband and father sits on his boat, waiting out a storm and thinking of them. The simple text from author Muon Von, almost in the style of a song or nursery rhyme, is paired with beautifully expressive artwork from illustrator Amy Chu...

Inspired by Muon Van's fisherman father, and by her ancestral village of An Bằng, in Vietnam, In a Village by the Sea is a beautifully atmospheric and expressive work, one which captures the loving closeness of this fishing family, and the natural rhythms - some gentle, some tumultuous - that shape their lives. This is the second picture-book I have read from Van, following upon her more recent Clever Little Witch (published under the name Muon Thi Van), and it is in a totally different vein than that other book, focusing on family and place. The artwork from Amy Chu is simply delightful, capturing the natural beauty around this family, and the charm of the family members themselves, and of their animal companions. I found the family dog particularly winsome, and loved his expressive face! The cricket, who connects home and sea through his artwork, was an interesting touch. This is also my second title from Chu, whose artwork I also enjoyed in Andrew Weiner's Down by the River. I think I will have to seek out more from both author and artist! Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about families and/or fishing communities, or that have a Vietnamese cultural setting, as well as to those who just appreciate gorgeous illustrations. ( )

This story is about a father who works away from home. The family is waiting for him to return. I thought that this book was pretty interesting. It has some fictional parts of it, there is a bug that is painting the drawing that leads the story to talk about the father. I think that it teaches a good lesson, always appreciate what your family does for you. I think that would be the big picture here that someone would take away from this. ( )

This book was calling my name when I pulled it off the bookshelf. This story is written about a family located in central Hue, Vietnam. The exact village, An Bang, is about a 10 minute drive on mo-ped from where my mother and father were born. A lot of Vietnamese people had hard labor jobs as fisherman. That is why when they immigrated to America, they moved to places like New Orleans or Hawaii in search of jobs. I knew this book was based in Vietnam because of the illustrations. Straw hats, the food, and house gave it away. The illustrations of this book are amazing and so realistic. The text itself does not give it away. I wished the author had incorporated that the family was Vietnamese into the text. However, the story reminds me a bit of David Wisner where the readers leave the book and enter imagination.

What other jobs required one of the parents to travel? Military, flight attendants, truck drivers, etc. What are some ways you can help out around the house when he/she is gone? ( )