Author: Sharon CreechTitle: The Wanderer
Illustrator: chapter drawings by David Diaz
Publisher: Joanna Cotler Books
Year: 2000
Format: Softcover
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Reading Level: Independent
Interest Level: Late Elementary, Middle School
Topics: Sailing, Journaling, Memories, Family
Summary: The Wanderer is a tale of a journey across the Atlantic Ocean on a Sailboat. The story is told from two different perspectives, alternating between the journal entries of Sophie and her cousin Cody. The six-member crew--consisting of Sophie and her three uncles and two cousins--experience several storms, fights, and secrets together. Through these experiences, the mystery of Sophie's past slowly unravels. The importance of family, the strength of shared memories, and the pain and joy in remembering are important themes throughout the book.
Extension Activities:
--Students will keep a journal for about 2 or 3 weeks, recording what they think or feel throughout the day. At the end of the assigned period of time, students will reflect on their experiences and how journaling affected (or did not affect) their perspectives.
--Students will write a short story in the format of a series of 10-20 journal entries. The story should be written in the first personabout a trip of some sort. The trip can be fiction or non-fiction, but it must be about something that could happen in "real life."
