Title: A Terrible Roar of Water
Author: Penny Draper
Publisher: Coteau Books
Age Range: Children (9+)
Time Period: 1929
Location: Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland
“Murphy wants to grow up fast, so he can be a fisherman like his father, who died at sea the day Murphy was born. His mom had to move to St. John’s for a job, learning Murphy with his aunt and uncle in the Newfoundland outport. He dreams of the day he can fish for himself – he’ll build a house so his mom will come back home.
Then, one winter day, an earthquake strikes offshore. An old=timer warns that it will trigger a giant wave – a tsunami – but no one believes him. However, when Murphy goes out to check the harbour, he sees that all the water’s been sucked right out of it!!
The sea comes back with a roar, and Murphy has just seconds to respond. Can he save his aunt and cousins? Can he save himself?”
Another book in the Disaster Strikes series by Penny Draper, this book brought the marine life of Newfoundland to life for me – through the eyes of a young boy who dreams of nothing more than a future as a fisherman.
Penny has done a great job of explaining the daily life of a fishing community. I could almost smell the stench of fish and feel both the exhausted arms of the family after a haul of fish arrives and warmth of a community in the midst of their kitchen parties.
Then, just as you start to get to know the people…. they are hit with an unexpected giant wall of water. A whole community …. gone. In winter.
In recent years, we as a global community have seen the effects of a tsunami when the country of Japan was bombarded. It was dramatic, emotional, and devastating for us to even watch on television. I had no idea that something similar had happened right here in Canada. And in a time where there was limited communication with the outside world, and at the beginning of the Great Depression too – how horrible.
As with most of these catastrophe type books, there are references to death.
Although this book publisher is no longer in business, you could look for their books at your local library or second hand.
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Hi. I am enjoying this book very much for two reasons. One it is a very interesting story but it is taking a long time to get through it which is okay because this leads to reason number two…My mom is 78 years old who has suffered a stroke a couple of months ago. She has lost a lot of her speech abilities. I live in Newfoundland she lives in Labrador so we are far apart and I cannot do much to help her. So I decided I would call her every night and have her read to me to try and help her recover some of her speech. She chose this book, The Terrible Roar of Water, as she had read it years before. She is doing pretty good reading it to me. It is taking us a long time to get through it but I look forward to calling her every night to find out what happens and to help her with her speech. It is a wonderful book not only to have it read to me but therapy for her. We have fun discussing things that are happening throughout the story.
Thank You.
Very hopeful.
Shirley
What an amazing story, Shirley! Thanks for sharing!