Tattered Sails [Hardcover]

Verla Kay (Author), Dan Andreasen (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2001 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

With dreams of a better life for themselves, Thomas, Edward, Mary Jane, and their parents say goodbye to the only home they have ever known. They leave crowded, dirty London behind for good when they board a ship that promises to take them across the wide Atlantic Ocean to the colonies. The long, treacherous journey is filled with uncertainty, and readers will cheer when this brave family takes their first wobbly steps in the New World.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Verla Kay employs the format she used to such strong effect in Gold Fever and Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails to describe the journey to the New World in Tattered Sails. Dan Andreason's dimly lit illustrations depict the land they're leaving and the ship's hold, as well as the home awaiting them: "One room cabin,/ Rush beds, soft./ Greased cloth windows,/ Ladder, loft."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Taut, rhythmic text and absorbing illustrations perfectly capture the excitement, beauty, and hardships of one family's voyage from London to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. The journey from "London crowded,/Choked with crime" to the "Freedom, fresh air" of the New World is portrayed in full-page illustrations using graphite drawings, textured oil paints, a computer, stencils, and carved erasers as stamps. With a palette rich in soft blues, greens, and browns, China-doll-like people are set into scenes that echo either the fury of a hurricane or the tranquility of a balmy day. The concise, carefully chosen rhyme is attractively boxed on one page of each spread. This handsome offering makes a fine read-aloud.

Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (September 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399233458
• ISBN-13: 978-0399233456
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #260,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtakingly Beautiful!, September 26, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tattered Sails (Hardcover)

It's the 1600's and Thomas, Edward, and Mary Jane are headed across the ocean from England to the New World. The voyage is harsh, which the author, Verla Kay, describes in sparse rhyming stanzas that reflect the bareness of the pilgrim's living quarters, meals, and clothing.
As the young family arrives in the new world, we rejoice with them. And as they give thanks, we recall the sacrifices of our forefathers who paved the way for all of us today.
Andreasen's artwork is stunning, capturing the feel of the rough ocean voyage in muted watercolors.
This book would be a great addition to a colonial American history lesson.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Tattered Sails", January 28, 2002

By 

Shari Lyle-Soffe (Grants Pass, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tattered Sails (Hardcover)

Verla Kay has a gift for telling history with just enough "perfect" words. The words conjure up beautiful pictures and are translated to paper by illustrator Dan Andreasen. The children will love this book and the painless way it teaches the past. I strongly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations in this helpful, useful book., November 17, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tattered Sails (Hardcover)

Great illustrations show the decision-making of the Pilgrims, and their fears and joys.

Not only is this book a pleasure to read aloud to younger children, but it is useful for older readers as well.

Told in very simple rhyming verse, the book serves as a good language arts project for older readers. Here are two examples we did this year:

-- turn each stanza into a paragraph. I had the children take turns, then we smoothed it out and did illustrations of our own.
-- copy the meter and rhyme scheme to create a similar poem about the child's favorite hobby.

We are planning a trip to early colonial sites next summer, and this book is part of our learning leading up to that trip.