Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Starred Review In this atmospheric story, a young boy describes a day in his seaside town. As he details his experiences, his winsome descriptions of fresh salt air and the light shining on the sea stand in sharp contrast to the confined darkness of the coal mine where his father works. Although nothing bad happens on this day, an unsettling sense of melancholy permeates the words and, especially, Smith's paintings, which are rendered in rich, warm watercolors accented by thick, black ink. As the boy revels in the sunshine, he thinks of his father in darkness below. At one point, the miners recede from view, and the darkness encroaches on their narrow tunnel at the bottom of the page. In the next two-page spread, the boy visits the graveyard where his grandfather o also was a miner buried. A picture of the calm, expansive sea, glittering with sunshine, is paired with a dark, empty mine, rendered in heavy, black scribbles. The tension is broken when the boy's father appears in the door to their home, but the happy family dinner scene is haunted by a smear of darkness under the table, suggesting that anxiety never is completely removed. The boy's somewhat wistful statements echo that feeling as he notes, "I think about the bright days of summer and the dark tunnels underground. One day it will be my turn. I'm a miner's son." Hauntingly beautiful.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

The coal mines of Cape Breton in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia have closed, but this book recalls a time when generations of men toiled in the mines under the sea.As the book starts, a white couple stands by the door. The woman holds her husband's lunch pail as he gets ready to leave home. Upstairs, their son wakes up, and it is from him that readers will get to know his town and life by the sea, the repeated phrase "it goes like this—" lending the narrative a timeless quality. Both the text and the illustrations have a simple, understated quality that go hand in hand and lend a melancholic feel to the whole. A muted palette and images heavily outlined in black reinforce the feeling. As the boy goes about his life above—playing with his brown-skinned friend; coming home to a simple lunch; going to the store with a list for the grocer; or visiting his grandfather's grave overlooking the sea—several predominantly black two-page spreads, vigorously textured strokes of black and gray adding weight, are woven into the narrative, reminding readers that deep down, the miners are digging for coal. A particularly poignant spread depicts the front door of the house in a wordless series, the angle of the sunlight showing time going by; in the last image the door is opening, and the narrator's father is home at last. A quiet book that will stay with readers long after they have closed it. (Picture book. 5-8)

Horn Book

A boy describes an ordinary day in a seaside coal mining town in the 1950s. The focus shifts among three locations: home, the ocean, and the mine where the boy's father works. The narrative is infused with a quality of slightly anxious waiting that illustrator Smith captures beautifully. It's a moving story, and a fine example of text and pictures in perfect harmony.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The coal mines of Cape Breton in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia have closed, but this book recalls a time when generations of men toiled in the mines under the sea.As the book starts, a white couple stands by the door. The woman holds her husband's lunch pail as he gets ready to leave home. Upstairs, their son wakes up, and it is from him that readers will get to know his town and life by the sea, the repeated phrase "it goes like this—" lending the narrative a timeless quality. Both the text and the illustrations have a simple, understated quality that go hand in hand and lend a melancholic feel to the whole. A muted palette and images heavily outlined in black reinforce the feeling. As the boy goes about his life above—playing with his brown-skinned friend; coming home to a simple lunch; going to the store with a list for the grocer; or visiting his grandfather's grave overlooking the sea—several predominantly black two-page spreads, vigorously textured strokes of black and gray adding weight, are woven into the narrative, reminding readers that deep down, the miners are digging for coal. A particularly poignant spread depicts the front door of the house in a wordless series, the angle of the sunlight showing time going by; in the last image the door is opening, and the narrator's father is home at last. A quiet book that will stay with readers long after they have closed it. (Picture book. 5-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In an author-s note, Schwartz (Pinny in Summer) explains that until the 1950s, boys who grew up in Canadian coal towns knew that their futures lay at the bottom of their local mine. Her young narrator takes readers through a typical day, describing a quiet, unchanging life. Smith-s (The White Cat and the Monk) expressive, evocative spreads contrast the light-soaked landscape above with the night-black mine below, and the boy-s varied activities with his father-s fixed routine. In the morning, the boy stands in his underwear and gazes out the window toward the sea. A page turn reveals inky darkness: -And I know my father is already deep down under that sea, digging for coal.- The boy plays and does errands as his father toils far below. -One day,- the boy concludes, -it will be my turn.... In my town, that-s the way it goes.- In Schwartz-s lyrical, wistful account, there-s no sense of injustice or complaint-only a note of resignation. It-s a sensitive way of helping readers understand that, for some, the idea of choosing a career is a luxury. Ages 5-9. Illustrator-s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Apr.)