Harlow, Joan Hiatt.

THUNDER FROM THE SEA
New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2004.
IL 5-8, RL 5.7
ISBN  0689864035

(2 booktalks)

Thirteen year old orphan Tom finds a much longed for home on Back O’ The Moon Island with a young couple. Tom’s insecurities ease when he rescues a young  Newfoundland dog during a storm at sea and is allowed to keep him.  He names him Thunder.  Family bonds grow just as a neighbor and his son make it known that they want Thunder, too, just as the couple finds out that they are expecting a child. What will happen when the sea captain, the original owner of Thunder, comes to the island?  Will Tom get to keep him and will Tom even be staying on the island once the baby is born?  Read “Thunder from the Sea” to find out.  (New Hampshire Great Stone Face 2007)

Booktalk #2

It's 1929 and thirteen-year-old Tom Campbell has always wanted a real family with a real house and a dog of his very own. Since he was three years old, the only home he has ever known has been the Mission orphanage. When he is sent to live and work with fisherman Enoch and his wife, Tom finally sees his dream wihin reach. And when he rescues a Newfoundland dog in the middle of a terrifying squall, Tom feels as if both he and the dog, which he names Thunder, have found a place to call home at last. But when Enoch's wife becomes pregnant and it looks like Thunder's owner might be found, Tom's wonderful new world is turned upside down. Will the Murrays still want Tom? And will Tom be forced to give up his beloved Thunder?  (Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award 2008)