This book tells the sweet story a young boy named Matthias and his life growing up on a small island off the coast of Maine with his family. He grows up and travels the world, but eventually moves back to Tibbetts Island to raise a family and live contently. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and really capture the mood of water and island life with rich blue tones throughout. The inside covers are map drawings of the island and surrounding areas, which really adds layers of depth and curiosity. As a reader, I enjoyed this lyrical story and took away lessons about living simply, the importance of family and home being where the heart is. It was lovely to follow Matthias throughout his entire life and notice the major role played by his island home in defining him and his happiness. As a teacher, I would use this book to help explain to younger students what an island is and have them locate Tibbetts Island and others on the maps provided in the book. All ages could discuss what they think life would be like living on an island both before and after reading this story. Did their perceptions change? Students could also create drawings of their own islands and name them.
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