Ann and Seamus [Hardcover]

Kevin Major (Author), David Blackwood (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2004

In 1828, off the Newfoundland fishing village of Isle aux Morts, Ann Harvey, her father, and her younger brother came upon the wreck of the Despatch, an Irish immigrant ship originally destined for Quebec City. In thick fog and fierce wind it had run aground and broken apart. Ann's courage and strength at the oars of the rescue boat were largely responsible for the saving of more than 160 dirt-poor passengers stranded amid the raging storm, left "like seabirds clinging to the rocks." Also at the story's center is Seamus, a young Irishman who had set sail with hopes of a new life in North America.

This historical fiction's rich yet accessible narrative verse draws the reader into the drama of sea rescue, without losing the tender and impetuous voices of youth at the core of the story. David Blackwood's illustrations present stark, intense impressions of life at the edge of the North Atlantic.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up--Written in free verse, this novel is based on true events that took place off the treacherous coast of Newfoundland in 1828. Seventeen-year-old Ann Harvey helped her father rescue 163 passengers who were stranded after a ship carrying Irish immigrants ran aground. Major takes inspiration from the teen's proven courage, creating first-person poems in the voice of a dreaming, restless young woman eager to experience more of the world than her family's cod-fishing routine. Ann's poems alternate with those narrated by Seamus, a fictional shipwreck survivor hoping to find wealth and love in America. He entreats Ann to join him in his new life. Historical details, both real and imagined, make for a dramatic story. However, because the real-life Ann stayed in Newfoundland and married a local man, Major must attempt to explain her choice not to join the dashing Seamus. He has already established his heroine's character as stouthearted and yearning for adventure, so readers may question her decision to remain in her monotonous life. Atmospheric full-page illustrations in somber tones of gray add to the mood. Joan Elizabeth Goodman's Paradise(Houghton, 2002), which is also based on true events, presents a more compelling account of doomed young love and the rugged Canadian landscape. Libraries with either a geographic connection or a high demand for novels in verse should consider Ann and Seamus.--Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-9. In 1828, 211 people were shipwrecked off the south coast of Newfoundland. This spare, melancholy novel in verse was inspired by Ann Harvey, the 17-year-old fisherman's daughter who helped row 163 of the victims to safety. Canadian writer Major portrays Ann as a restless dreamer who yearns for knowledge and broader experience but is grimly aware of her isolation, flatly lamenting, "What learning's here is fish." Ann's voice is briefly interrupted with that of Irish teenager Seamus, an invented character whose quest for a better life finds him aboard the doomed ship. When their lives converge, the romance that develops is not entirely convincing, perhaps because the constraints of verse hinder a full exploration of the characters' worlds. Even so, young readers will respond to the visceral language (the ship is a "lurching vessel of seasickness") as well as Ann's confusion as she contemplates her future. Subdued artwork in the bluish-gray tones of sea and spray sustains the brooding mood, and an endnote provides historical context. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (February 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088899561X
• ISBN-13: 978-0888995612
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,512,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely fictional story of a forgotten historical hero, July 13, 2004

By 

Jessica Ferguson "threelittlebirds" (Woodbury, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ann and Seamus (Hardcover)

Kevin Major's short prose poems detailing snippets of the 1800s immigrant life of Ann, who lives in Newfoundland, and Seamus, who is aboard a ship emigrating from Ireland, is beautifully crafted and reminiscent of oral storytelling and songwriting traditions.

The story revolves around the meeting of Ann and Seamus when Seamus' ship runs upon a reef off the coast of Newfoundland. Ann and her family make a heroic effort and save many lives. But the story of Ann goes deeper than her selfless help in the shipwreck and Major has worked in some insightful passages as Ann struggles to make herself, her family, and Seamus happy.

This beautiful book - it would not far-fetched to call this an art book - is an interesting mix of unusual historical fiction detailing a young woman's heroism and coming-of-age highlighted by seven of David Blackwood's monochromatic and atmospheric illustrations. A nice gift book and a wonderful read for any age.