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Boy of the Deeps
James is following in his father's footsteps, and today for the first time he will descend deep into the caves below the Atlantic Ocean to begin to learn the coal miner's work.
The story follows him down into the pit, where the pit ponies live out their lives in the dark. He and his father work on a vein of coal and are just relaxing for lunch when the ceiling begins to collapse. His father is trapped by a falling beam but James manages to free him. Together they manage to dig their way out and join their companions. But everybody knows that tomorrow James, his father, and all the miners will be back down in the mine despite the dangers, for it is the only way they can earn their living.
Beautifully illustrated in an Edward Hopper style, Boy of the Deeps pays homage to the lives of these brave miners and brings the brave lives of miners to children in a vivid concrete way.
The story follows him down into the pit, where the pit ponies live out their lives in the dark. He and his father work on a vein of coal and are just relaxing for lunch when the ceiling begins to collapse. His father is trapped by a falling beam but James manages to free him. Together they manage to dig their way out and join their companions. But everybody knows that tomorrow James, his father, and all the miners will be back down in the mine despite the dangers, for it is the only way they can earn their living.
Beautifully illustrated in an Edward Hopper style, Boy of the Deeps pays homage to the lives of these brave miners and brings the brave lives of miners to children in a vivid concrete way.
32 pages, Paperback
Published April 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 8, 2018
This beautifully illustrated book is the story of a boy's first day of work in a coal mine in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with his father. The description is very visual as danger threatens their lives.
January 7, 2016
Young boy in Cape Breton sets off on his first day in the mines. Wallace provides a lot of detail about what it was like to have to work far underground below the Atlantic ocean digging for coal. Unfortunately there is a cave in on the first day, but the boy and his father manage to escape. While I liked this book enough, I thought it's glorified a really dangerous profession. It would work as an introduction, but I would like students to know more about how workers join together to make jobs like this safer.
January 8, 2015
Slice of life with an abrupt ending. Might have been better if the mine collapse didn't happen on his first day of work, otherwise it might leave kids wondering if that happened everyday in the mine?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews