During the Captain’s Courageous Festival this weekend, Khan Studio and the GMG Gallery hosted reader, Anita Sanchez and her book The Invasion of Sandy Bay. Anita and I swapped books, so she got Tales of Bong Tree Island and I got Invasion. I have started reading the book, but haven’t finished it yet.
In Anita’s book, a young boy plays a key role when the War of 1812 comes to his Massachusetts coastal fishing village. The little town of Sandy Bay, Massachusetts, was the site of one of the wildest invasions in U.S. history, when the might of the British Empire came up against hardheaded New England townsfolk. The Invasion of Sandy Bay, based on eyewitness accounts of actual events, tells the tale – through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy – of what happened on the night when the British put too much gunpowder in one of their cannons. The hilarious – and true – events of the topsy-turvy invasion are set against the backdrop of the dangerous lives of the fishermen.
Based on the actual invasion of Sandy Bay (now Rockport), Massachusetts, this work adds a unique perspective to the War of 1812. The invasion is told through the eyes of 12-year-old Lemuel Brooks. On his first night of trying to learn the trade of fisherman, Lemuel and Bill Tarr, a veteran fisherman, are captured by the British frigate Nymph. Bill is forced to pilot the frigate closer to the village so the British Royal Marines can go ashore and capture the fort. Lemuel and Bill escape and warn the town. What ensues is not a typical invasion! One group of Marines captures the fort and takes nine of the town’s militiamen as prisoners. A raft with British Marines sinks near the shore, and the fishermen rescue them and take them prisoner. Colonel Appleton of the Gloucester militiamen bans a proposed prisoner exchange, so the townsfolk take matters into their own hands. Aside from publicizing this little-known incident, the novel also fleshes out what daily life was like with an afterword that helps separate fact from fiction. Students will enjoy Lemuel’s adventures during the invasion and will empathize with his views on life. —Library Media Connection
The book can be purchased on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Invasion-Sandy-Anita-Sanchez/dp/1590785606
E.J. Lefavour
Good Morning Gloucester 
My neighbor says he found a cannon ball in his backyard. Now I believe it. And then there is the cannon ball stuck in the church steeple. All from the same hullabaloo? I guess I have to buy the book.
LikeLike