In a Village by the Sea - Hardcover

"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. (Picture book. 4-7)" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Thank you SO MUCH for sharing In a Village by the Sea with me...It is spectacularly gorgeous and wonderfully creative." -- Minh Le, Huffington Post "At first glance, In a Village By the Sea appears to be a traditional story about family, but Van's clever nesting doll narrative and Chu's playful illustration gives this family's story a healthy sprinkling of magic." -- The Best Is Yet to Come: An Early 2015 Picture Book Preview, Huffington Post "A powerful & beautiful picture book!" -- John Schu, librarian, Oak Brook, Illinois "Berkeley author Muon Van, who left Vietnam as a child with the exodus of boat people, brings us In a Village by the Sea, an homage to her homeland's culture. Magnificently illustrated by Oakland artist April Chu, this story's poetic language brings emotion and longing to the simple tale of a fisherman's family, who wait for him by the sea. Chu's lovingly drawn details will give you lots to talk about with your child, as you explore another way of life yet recognize the similarities to your own lives, such as the importance of home and family." -- Linda Lenhoff, Diablo Magazine "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 "In circular fashion, this simple story's narration unfolds, with great power behind the few words on each page. The intense illustrations, done in pencil and digitally colored, set human and animal characters into seascapes and interior scenes in an almost timeless Vietnam and extend the story far beyond the words. A wife and a baby are in their traditional kitchen anxiously awaiting the fisherman-husband's return. He is in his boat, fearfully viewing the dark waves and black clouds but also looking at family photos (a hint of modernity). Will he get home to his wife and baby "in his village by the sea" in the "small house" mentioned at beginning and end? Of course readers hope that he will, but there's far more to this book than just the story. The visual surprises here are a faithful, loving dog that appears in most illustrations and leads eyes to "a brown cricket, humming and painting" beyond a hole in the wall. This is not just any cricket but perhaps illustrator Chu's avatar. After all, the cricket is seen painting the scene of the stormy seas and the little white fishing boat with the husband sitting nervously on the deck. Near the author and artist biographies, the cricket is even signing "AC." "Van's circular, incantatory writing closes in on the house... 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." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "In a Village By the Sea" offers truly hypnotic illustrations and a quiet, singing narrative to draw readers into the seaside life of a fisherman's family, waiting for him to return from the sea with his catch... "In a Village By the Sea" touches the heart directly, through images so beautifully detailed, charming, and soothing the soul...This book is perfect for culture studies and expanding global awareness for children ages 4-10 -- The Midwest Book Review "The tender tale unfolds in familiar patterned verse, akin to nesting dolls: "In that house, high above the waves,/ is a kitchen./ In that kitchen is a bright glowing fire./In that fire is a pot of steaming noodle soup," and so on. As Northern California residents, both author and illustrator draw inspiration from their shared heritage to honor a traditional way of life, thanks to them not forgotten." -- San Francisco Chronicle "April Chu's serene, intensely detailed artwork offers a lovely and fully realized scene, and invites us into an equally well-calibrated story by the Vietnamese-born Muon Van. Together, they've made a picture book that's somehow both modest and captivating...For the illustrations of the house alone, with its clean spaces punctuated by just a few treasures, this book is a must-read for Marie Kondo fans, people who long for domestic spaces swept free of the relentless detritus of modern living. Even if you don't go to those extremes, there is something breathtaking about the sweet, simple domesticity on display. Inside the house, we see a "bright, glowing fire" and a woman cooking noodle soup on a stove over it. Her ingredients are chopped and waiting in little ceramic bowls: herbs, peppers, onions. Yet this is no control freak's paradise. Next to her in a basket is a "sleepy child, yawning and turning," with his shirt riding up and blankets askew. The dog licks the child's toes. What we are witnessing is almost primal: man, woman, child, water, fire, food, animals. And then, lest the adult reader get too carried away in lifestyle reveries, we are reminded that this is a book for children: Magic happens. "By that child" is a hole in the floor that contains a cricket, who is painting a picture. It's an unusually adorable insect, and we see it in full close-up, a brush in each of three arms, another in its mouth, as the dog's snout looms above the hole. The picture the cricket paints shows a fisherman at sea in a dangerous-looking storm, and soon we are there with him. As any child knows and adults all too often forget, the comforts of home can only temporarily keep at bay the darker, scarier forces of nature that we are all subject to, sooner or later. The subject of the cricket's picture, of course, is the baby's father, the man who lives in the house, and the story ends by coming full circle, with woman, baby and dog looking out to the sea for the man, as he had looked toward the land for them. We can only hope, as they do, that he makes it back. Among the pleasures this book offers is a celebration of home and family that's made all the richer by its awareness of the ever-looming possibility of tragedy. And in a playful parting image of the cricket putting the finishing touches on the painting -- the signature reads "AC," April Chu's initials -- there's a nod to the mysterious power of art to help get us through that kind of waiting, too." -- Maria Russo, New York Times Sunday Book Review "The perfect book for teaching about diverse cultures and lifestyles, children will delight in this beautiful story which pays homage to the vanishing fishing culture in Vietnam, honors courage and sacrifice, and celebrates hearth and home." -- The Naptime Reviewer "In this beautifully illustrated story, the simple text allows the reader to focus truly on the powerful images and illustrative scenes. The story begins with a wife and child anxiously awaiting the return of the fisherman/husband (father). The looming storm and dark clouds cause concern. Will he get home safe? There are many visual treasures in this book, including the repeated appearance of the family dog and the clever foreshadowing of the 'artist in residence,' a brown cricket, living beneath the wooden floor. This book promotes opportunities to foster language development and critical viewing." -- Literacy Daily, International Reading Association "Part of what I like so much about the storytelling in this book is not just its nesting nature, but also the questions it inspires in the child reader. At first we're working entirely in the realm of reality with a village, a fisherman, his wife, and their child. But then when we dive down into the cricket's realm we see that it is painting a magnificent storm with vast waves that appear to be a kind of ode to that famous Japanese print, 'The Great Wave Off Kanagawa'...So what is going on precisely? Is it all a clever cricket's imaginings or are each of these images true in some way? I love the conversation starter nature of this book. Younger kids might take the events at face value. Older kids might begin to enmesh themselves into the layered M.C. Escher-ness of the enterprise. Whatever draws them in, Van and Chu have created a melodic visual stunner. No mean feat... It reads like something classic but it looks and feels like something entirely original. A great read aloud, beautifully illustrated, destined to become beloved of parents, librarians, and kids themselves for years to come. This is a book worth discovering." -- Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Review "As minimal as the text might initially appear, Muon Van's debut picture book is as deep as the Sea she references in her title. The resplendently rendered story seems simple: a family awaits for the safe return home of the fisherman father. But, of course, this is a narrative to examine and enjoy far beyond its exquisite surface. Van hauntingly intertwines each double-page spread into the next with a single word that dovetails and expands from one spread into another: "In a fishing village by the sea / there is a small house" continues into "In that house, / high above the waves, / is a kitchen ..." and so on and so on until the story is told. A mother, her baby, the dog, and a prescient cricket are gathered within, warmed by a "glowing fire," above which a delicious hot pot simmers, ready for a family to savor. Architect-turned-artist April Chu's intricate illustrations elaborate and amplify Van's careful words: from the rocky cliffs to the meticulously-kept home, from the expert preparation of the pho to the table laden with all the fresh ingredients. Chu even bestows the loyal family dog, who is never specifically mentioned in the text, a lovely narrative of his own: his gentle devotion toward the slowly waking child, his curious eyes as he peeks at the artistic cricket from above, his prominent inclusion in the family portrait that keeps the fisherman company, his patient waiting for his master's return. Inside the back cover are perhaps the most resonating details that enhance the story: the "Author's Note" provides the inspiring family history about boats, about waiting, about danger, about loneliness, and more. Vietnamese-born Muon Van was just nine months old when her family became one of the 'boat people' to seek refuge away from her war-torn country. Boats and the sea would prove vital to Van's family's survival, not only for escape, but later for sustenance when her father continued the work of his fishing ancestors on the other side of the world...[This] manifestation of family and history is magnificent...Read it, love it, share it." -- Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Pennsylvania Center for the Book Best Children's Book for Family Literacy 2016 "Glorious art and lush visual storytelling combine to tell this deceptively simple tale of family. A clever, circular story, a story within a story, and a lovely glimpse into another culture." --Staff pick, Powell's Books

Written in a spare, lyrical style using fresh, evocative imagery, 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.