The Saltbox Sweater
Breakwater Books
When the nearby fish plant closes, nine-year-old Katie watches as all her friends move away. As her family struggles to stay in their outport home, Katie learns to appreciate the help of neighbours and finds ways to help out herself. The discovery of an unexpected talent gives Katie's mother hope of a new career, but can she support her family as a craft worker? Katie has an idea that might just make that possible. This is a 65 page junior novel for ages 7 to 9.
Resources
Here’s a slide show by Evis Loshi that looks at themes in The Saltbox Sweater.
Why I Wrote This Book
In 1992, the government of Canada closed the cod fishery in Newfoundland because the cod stocks, the number of fish in the sea, were so low. In the years that followed, many people had to leave the province to find work. My daughter was about eleven at the time, and the kids at her school were keeping track of which parents had jobs that could disappear, and who might have to leave. She was afraid, by the time she had her children of her own, there might be no one living in Newfoundland.
At the same time, one of my friends who had grown up in a very small outport learned that house that she lived in had been torn down when her brother realized that no one lived near enough to keep the house in good shape. My friend’s sadness about losing her childhood home gave me the beginning of my story.
The Saltbox Sweater was originally a short story published in an anthology, Cornerstones 5B, by Gage Educational Publishing Company. The idea stayed with me after this five-page story was published, and I decided to give it a book of its own.
Reviews for The Saltbox Sweater
Three of McNaughton’s four previous novels are works of historical fiction, and although this one is set in contemporary times, it carries historical value. McNaughton, an award-winning author in St. John’s, sets her scenes with meticulous care. From the idioms of speech to the descriptions of neighbourhoods, McNaughton’s specificity of detail enlivens her writing. At the same time, there is broader appeal in the story’s survival elements and the way the child plays a successful role in her destiny... This [book] forms an important chapter in an ongoing tale of a culture’s struggle to survive.
— Quill and Quire