The Baker by the Sea

Billowy spreads in blues and grays evoke the waves and clouds and salty air of a coastal village, portrayed with light-skinned residents, where the young narrator describes life in alliterative prose-poetry: “Everyone works hard by the sea.” The fishermen, boatbuilders, sailmakers, net-makers, and “the Scotch fisher-girls” who “prepare, pack, and pickle the fish” all work out of doors, no matter the weather. In this debut by White, artwork in pencil and ink evokes an era when a community joined hands to secure its livelihood, a vision embraced by the narrator, who dreams of a future at sea: “On the boat we will work together,/ handling, hoisting, and heaving the ropes,/ ready for our biggest catch.” But the narrator’s father, the village baker, creates “bread, buns, and biscuits.” Why, the child wonders, did he choose “to be just a baker?” The father’s answer, and his pride in his work, changes the child’s perspective. With some of the poignant resonance of Town Is by the Sea, White’s tale pays witness to the importance of a community’s inter workings. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)