Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea [Hardcover]

Gloria Rand (Author), Ted Rand (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Games of tag on the deck; swings tied to the masts; a floating farmyard filled with chickens and ducks and even a pig; exotic pets, including a mongoose, a monkey, a kangaroo; studying astronomy and celestial navigation under the stars and geography with firsthand visits all over the world. This was the childhood of the four Madsen children who made their home aboard a four-masted sailing bark that carried cargo in the 1800s. Based on the journal kept by Captain Madsen and his daughter Ena, the story of this seafaring family is brought to life for modern children by Gloria and Ted Rand. Culminating in a dramatic Christmas Eve storm at sea, this is at once a rousing adventure and an intriguing look at a unique lifestyle that will fascinate young and old alike.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With emotional range and plenty of historical detail, this picture book follows four children who grow up sailing the oceans on the John Ena, a four-masted cargo ship for which their father is captain. Young Matilda narrates the days when "every morning we woke up far away from where we'd gone to sleep." Working from the journal of the Madsens, a real 19th-century seafaring family, the Rands (Baby in a Basket) pack the pages with remarkable facts. Balls bounce overboard, so Matilda and her siblings play catch on deck with beanbags instead. The family buys gifts for Christmas and birthdays months ahead of time on long voyages. And when the seas grow rough, they must tie furniture to the walls and secure it to the floor. The book carries readers from cheerful anecdotes about pets and games to a gripping description of the heroism of the children's parents when their ship broaches (rolls onto its side): "Neither of them showed any panic or fear, and that made us children feel brave, too." Skillfully drafted watercolor spreads often show action at an angle to convey the sense of the ship pitching on the waves, and suggest a life of constant motion. An afterword with period photographs describes the Madsens' post-oceangoing life. Even landlocked readers will feel the pull of the high seas in this suspenseful memoir. Ages 5-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. Between 1896 and 1910, Captain Madsen commanded the four-masted sailing bark John Ena, carrying cargo around the world. With him sailed his wife and four children. This fictional first-person narrative is based on Madsen's journal. The ship was an adventurous and surprisingly comfortable home, complete with pink marble fireplace. A governess taught the children history, science, and math, but their father taught them astronomy, celestial navigation, and semaphore code. From the fear of sinking during a storm to the joy of celebrating Christmas, this briskly told story recounts a cheerful, child-centered view of life on board a sailing ship. The tone is reflected in Rand's colorful illustrations, lively scenes of children and their surroundings, drawn in a looser style than one usually associates with the artist. Photos of the Madsens and the John Ena are appended, along with an afterword discussing the Madsens' life on the ship and the sources for the text and illustrations. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: North-South (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735815399
• ISBN-13: 978-0735815391
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Aboard Ship....., January 29, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sailing Home: Story of Child (Paperback)

Meet the Madsen family, Father, Mother, Albert, Dagmar, baby Ena, and our narrator, Mathilda. They lived aboard a four-masted sailing ship, captained by their father, that carried cargo all over the world in the late 1800s. As Mathilda tells us, their accommodations were luxurious, large bedrooms, fine furnishings, and even a marble fireplace in the main saloon, and their life aboard ship was rich with adventure and full of fun. "Unlike most homes, our didn't stay put. At night, the ship kept moving, so every morning we woke up far away from where we'd gone to sleep." They had the huge deck for play, a menagerie of pets, including a pig, kangaroo, mongoose, and monkey, astronomy lessons by night, and geography lessons as they sailed the world by day. Theirs was a unique and fascinating life, and when in port they always wanted to know, "When do we sail? When are we going back out to sea?" Gloria and Ted Rand have authored an intriguing and informative story, based on entries from the journal kept by Ena and her father, Captain Madsen. The engaging text is gripping and full of emotion, and beautifully enhanced by Mr Rand's expressive artwork. Together, word and art pull you into the story, and transport you to the high seas and another time and place. With an afterword and photo gallery to complete and personalize the story, Sailing Home is an amazing and entertaining book that's perfect for youngsters 7-10, or as a read-aloud story the entire family can share.

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures at Sea and Life in History for Kids, August 1, 2010

By 

Julia King "wyethia" (MORGAN HILL, CA, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea (Hardcover)

Sailing home is based on the real life of a family that sailed a four mast bark around the world carrying cargo between distant lands. The story is told by the captain's daughter and she explains what their daily life aboard the large sailing vessel was really like. Details of historical life that we can no longer imagine are given in this book in a kid friendly format. The black and white photos of the family in the end of this book also ad extra charm to the story.

Great addition to home library and historical enrichment for kids.

5.0 out of 5 stars A window on another time, July 30, 2010

By 

Texas Annie (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea (Hardcover)

This is a great read-aloud for littles! I got this for my three-year-olds, thinking if it was too complicated we could tackle it again when they're older, but they love it right now. I simplify a little of the language as I read, but it's an engaging story of family life at sea, with an emphasis on the child's point of view (such as the family's pet monkey, and the only boy's attempts to skip school), and my preschoolers think it's great. They chose it themselves for story time tonight. The illustrations are clear and energetic, and the prose is clear but not dumbed-down. It's a great snapshot of another time and place.