Overview and Outcomes:

This is a three-week Writing Root based around the book Baker by the Sea by Paula White. It begins with children entering the classroom which has been transformed into a baker’s shop. Children will follow the recipe at the back of the book to make Hot Coconut Buns. After they have accomplished this, they receive a job advertisement – a baker is needed in the village! Children will complete a job application and become part of the community. As you read the book with children, they will learn about variety of historic jobs in the community, many of which don’t exist anymore. There will be an opportunity for drama where children go to a job fayre in role and introduce themselves to others to explore how every job in the community is linked. A crisis will strike the community in the guise of the Great Flood and children will be called to a council meeting to discuss how best to meet these challenges. As a solution, they will spend time planning, drafting, editing and publishing tourist brochures to attract more people and businesses to the fragile community. 

Synopsis of Text:

A lyrical, richly illustrated story explores a child's relationship with his sleepy seaside fishing town.

If you keep walking over the hills and across the fields, you will come to the edge, where the land meets the sea. And on this edge lies a village. This is my home.

In this village by the sea, a young boy notes the roles that each person in town plays. Everyone is busy: the blacksmith, the boatbuilder, the baker. But most important of all, the boy thinks, are the fishermen who bring in the catch, braving the waves and windy weather to return with the finest, freshest fish. His father is a baker, but the boy wants to be a daring fisherman when he grows up, undaunted by the stormy seas. "Have you ever been to sea?" the boy asks his father. Surely sailing out on the wet and wild waves to feed the town is the most meaningful job of all. More meaningful than a baker. In this softly drawn look at an enduring way of life, Paula White provides a timeless reminder that everyone--and every role--is essential, no matter how small or quiet they may seem.

Text Rationale:

This a warm-hearted story which will show children the importance of community. Set against the backdrop of a remote fishing village where everyone works together to support one another, the story reminds us that everyone is important no matter their role.  The back of the book includes a recipe from the author’s grandfather for Hot Coconut Buns which the children can enjoy making in the classroom.  

Links and themes:

Seaside, aspirations, relationships, community, roles, working together

Date written: July 2022