| Booktalk
#1
The year is 1895 and young Nathan wants nothing more than to become a surfman.
He wants to learn how to row the heavy surfboat, breathe life into half-drowned
sailors and fight the fiercest storms and win.
But his father angrily discourages his dream. “There’s a lot you don’t
understand,” he says. “You won’t ever be a surfman. Now put it out of your
mind.” Even small Pea Island, along the Outer Banks of North Carolina is
not immune to the effects of post-Civil War racism. If Nathan wants to
become a storm warrior, he must find another way to win the battle. Does
he?
Read Storm Warriors, a moving tribute to the brave African-American crew
of the Pea Island Life-saving Station. This crew was awarded the Gold Life-Saving
Medal - the highest honor in the United States Life-Saving Service - one
hundred years after they had performed one of the most heroic rescues in
history. The ceremony came as the result of research performed by 2 graduate
students and a fourteen-year-old student's letter to President Clinton
and Senator Jesse Helms in an attempt to right racial wrongs and to bestow
honor long overdue. (Marsha Carlan, marshad_us@yahoo.com,
Benton Elementary School)
Booktalk #2
Langston Hughes wrote, "What
happens to a dream deferred?" Nathan Williams was twelve years old
and he had dreams. He saw his granddaddy struggle after being freed
from a life of slavery because of the Civil War. Granddaddy's dream
had been to own a piece land and live with his family. He was still
searching for his wife who was sold before the war ended. Nathan's
daddy had dreams of being a successful businessman. He was struggling
as a fisherman, earning half the price for his catch as the white fishermen.
His wife died of diphtheria because the white doctor was reluctant to treat
African-American patients. Life on the Outer Banks in 1895 was hard,
but Nathan had his dreams. He dreamed of being one of the surf men
at the Pea Island Lifesaving Station because he wanted to battle the elements
and win. The Pea Island Lifesaving Station was the only lifesaving
station with an all-black crew, and someone had to die before a new crewmember
was added. New crewmembers were usually found in the sons or cousins of
the current crew. Nathan and his father helped with many rescues
after they moved to the island. Nathan read and memorized the lifesaving
manuals from the station. One night, on a short-handed crew, Nathan
jumped into the surfboat as the crew was rowing out for a rescue.
He had dreams of being the hero, but instead he acted foolishly and was
hit in the head by a floating plank. His injury did not dim his desire
to become a surf man, but his father continued to discourage him.
What will become of Nathan's dreams? Will his desire to battle the
elements and win lead him to become a surf man or will he heed his grandfather's
advice to "be ready in case what you hope for doesn't come looking the
way you think it should?”
Prepared by: Sheri Carpenter
for South Carolina
Junior Book Award 2005 |
