The Baker by the Sea by Paula White

We have fish merchants, and smokers that smoke the fish, blacksmiths and basketmakers, butchers and bakers. There are cosy cafes and tiny shops that sell everything you might need. 

Every aspect of life in this village revolves around the sea. There are fishermen, net makers, sail makers, boat builders, coopers who make the barrels for the pickled fish and young girls who process each catch ready for pickling. 

"The sea is the beating heart of all he we do."

But this boy's father is not a fisherman. He is the town baker. The boy is not sure this is as important as being a fisherman but his father explains how everyone enjoys his baking - the boat builders buy bacon butties from the cafe, the fisher-girls enjoy piping hot buns to warm their fingers, and out at sea the fishermen dip their biscuits in their hot tea.

"I look at my father and feel proud. For without the bread, buns and biscuits, ... the people of the village could not go on as they do. When I am older I am going to be a baker, just like my father, in the village by the sea."

Bonus - there is a recipe at the back of the book for hot coconut buns - yum.

The Baker by the sea was short listed in 2023 for the Klaus Flugge Prize.

The Baker by the Sea has wonderful illustrations done in black and white pencil with pale blue spot colour. 

Relying upon a limited palette of greys and tonal blues for the most part (except for the warm yellow glow of the baker’s oven), her visual and written narrative crosses over the village, passing over the bustle of residents’ hard-working day-to-day lives and its centring around the fishing trade. Books for Keeps

The Baker by the Sea celebrates those small-village communities in which everyone worked hard together and looked after each other. It is quite poignant that the village then has been lost to the elements but perhaps readers can take something from the idea that something special happens when communities come together. Books for Keeps

I highly recommend The Baker by the Sea for your school library. Read it for Father's Day; read it for the junior history topic Life in the Past; read if your class are talking about workers in the community; but most of all just read it for pure enjoyment. 

The perfect companion book would be: