Island Boy

Multigenerational story tied together by the youngest brother as he matures into a sea captain, a father and farmer, and a grandfather.

Touches on people buying up shore homes for summer homes.

I grew up in the shore area and the mixed feelings brought about by tourists and summer home owners is real. There is no animosity toward them in this story.

At the end the grandfather’s life is reclaimed by the sea in a storm. Also mentioned is his grandson and adult daughter coming to stay with him after their husband/father dies of illness.

45 months -Wonderfully illustrated in Cooney's American folk art style. We enjoyed the story and wondered if she was influenced or was giving a nod to the Little House books. It seems curious that the family had a pair of oxen named Star and Bright, the same names a young Almanzo gave his oxen in Farmer Boy. They were the only animals named. Also the home schooling by the Mother and use of slates by the children... Maybe we are just too into the series at the moment. One odd thing about that illustration, they lived on the island as a family with six children, with no mention of other inhabitants and yet there were 12 children being schooled. Odd. The biggest problem I had was the abrupt ending... I felt bad for the mom and young show more Mathias left to fend for themselves. show less

Island Boy is a 1988 book by Barbara Cooney. This a story about a boy named Matthias, who travels around the world but eventually returns to his home on Tibbetts Island in Maine. Matthias is the youngest son in a family of 12 children who live with their parents on Tibbetts Island, Maine. When he is old enough to leave home, Matthias sails around the world, but always knows where his heart lies This is a story about your heart always being at home. It's also about adventure and learning about who you are.

This book is about a family that started out on an island. They had a bunch of kids and one was very tiny. As they boy grew he found that he could do more and more things like his brothers and sisters. When all of his brothers and sisters had moved away he stayed on the island to start his own family. They trace the young boy's life all the way up until the end. It is a very heartwarming story about a man and his love for his home

This book is about a boy named Matthais. He was the youngest of 12 brothers and sisters. His family lived on an island until they all grew up. Matthais is the only child who would return to the island after he had had many adventures at sea. Matthais stayed on the island for the rest of his life and helped to raise his grandson who also loved the island. This is a great book to teach how times change and how the new generations learn from the older ones.

We see a story of an area changing from year to year. The pictures are great and it is a good book for children to read to explore our ever changing culture. It goes from a young boy to an elderly man who watches the area that he grew up in change.

Three generations of a family raised on Tibbett's Island, but slowly everyone moves away. Young Matthias moves back to the island he loves, despite everyone's warning and derision of an "island boy"