With a palette inspired by the Celtic fiddle music that gives Cape Breton its unique musical identity, Rheingans paints sonic “illustrations” that depict Davey’s exterior and interior world as one of cheerful surfaces and obscure depths, tranquility and noise, the comforts of everyday ritual and the constant proximity of danger. Taking original illustrator Sydney Smith’s extraordinary images as a starting point, composer and violinist Anna Rheingans (of folk duo The Rheingans Sisters) situates the story within an evolving musical soundscape that captures all of the subtlety and ambiguity of the book. Throughout the day, his thoughts keep returning to his father, working in the coal mines deep beneath the town. In this Soundworlds production, we follow Davey as he describes his daily routine: from waking up with the sea sparkling outside his window, to playing with his friends, buying groceries for his mother, and visiting his grandfather’s grave.

Portraying a day in the life of a young boy growing up in a seaside mining town on Canada’s Cape Breton Island, Joanne Schwartz’s Town Is By The Sea is a richly evocative and award-winning piece of contemporary children’s literature, and an ideal candidate for a sonic theatre adaptation. She lives in Toronto.“My father is a miner and he works under the sea.”

Joanne has been a children's librarian for more than 25 years. Her most recent book is Pinny in Summer, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant. Her other books include City Alphabet and City Numbers, with photos by Matt Beam, and two Inuit folktales with Cape Dorset elder Qaunaq Mikkigak - The Legend of the Fog, illustrated by Danny Christopher, and Grandmother Ptarmigan, illustrated by Qin Leng. Her first picture book, Our Corner Grocery Store, illustrated by Laura Beingessner, was nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. The ever-present ocean and inevitable pattern of life in a maritime mining town will enthrall children and move adult listeners.Īuthor bio: Joanne Schwartz was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. With curriculum connections to communities and the history of mining, this beautifully understated and haunting story brings a piece of history to life. In this new book from Joanne Schwartz, a young boy enjoys a summer day while his thoughts constantly return to his father, who is digging for coal deep under the sea.Ī young boy wakes up to the sound of the sea, visits his grandfather's grave after lunch, and comes home to a simple family dinner, but all the while his mind strays to his father digging for coal deep down under the sea.

Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz