After the police come, a family is forced to flee their Caribbean island and set sail for America in a small fishing boat.
Leaving behind their home and possessions, the parents give up a wedding ring and garnet necklace to buy passage into the dark harbor. When the engine fails an hour from shore, the women knot clothes together to raise a patched sail against the wind.
Shots fired from the cliffs drive the crowded boat into the open sea, where food and water soon run out. Though armed thieves board to steal what little remains, the father huddles with his children each sunset to sing of freedom.
Guided only by a makeshift cloth sail and a father’s quiet promise, the family faces the open sea together.
- Thanksgiving Picture Books: Offers a poignant perspective on gratitude and freedom, connecting the spirit of Thanksgiving to families seeking a safe haven.
- Immigration Story: Captures the uncertainty of life as a refugee, from rationing rainwater in buckets to being turned away by soldiers at an unfamiliar shore.
- Sibling Dynamics: An older brother and his inquisitive sister lean on each other and their parents through every trial on the open sea.
- Also by This Author: Night Tree, A Turkey for Thanksgiving and That’s What Leprechauns Do.
