Drift House: The First Voyage

Drift House: The First Voyage
Author Dale Peck
Country United States
Language English
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Scholastic Books
Publication date
2005
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 437
ISBN 978-1-58234-969-5
OCLC 59360250
LC Class PZ7.P3338 Dri 2005
Followed by The Lost Cities: A Drift House Voyage

Drift House: The First Voyage is a 2005 children's novel written by Dale Peck.[1][2] This was Peck's first children's book; he is best known as a polemicist reviewer, and adult novelist.[3]

In 2007 and 2008, Chicago Public Schools placed the novel on their recommended reading list for School Grades 6–8.[4]

Influences

Dale Peck wrote the book after a friend living in Cape Cod described a dream he had had about his house floating out to sea. He cites The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis as a strong influence on the book.[5]

Plot

After the 9/11 attack on New York City, the three Oakenfeld children, Susan, Charles, and Murray, are sent to live with their Uncle Farley in Canada.

Farley has recently bought a strange ship-like home named Drift House on The Bay of Eternity. The home resembles a bizarre old-time ship, washed ashore. The children immediately find the home very odd. When they question their uncle about the strange house, he becomes nervous and distracted. The children later explore the house, where they meet a talkative parrot named President Wilson.

One morning, they wake to discover the house has been raised up by a flood, carried out of the bay, and has drifted into the Sea of Time – a place where past, present, and future converge. Susan, Charles and Murray, along with Uncle Farley and President Wilson embark on an adventure where they discover evil mermaids, comical pirates, a wise whale, predictions of things to come, and a secret plot that could stop time itself.

Main Characters

Reception

Sarah Sawtelle of Kidsreads found the book a "well-crafted adventure series that is sure to be another children's classic".[6]

Releases and sequel

The book was first released in the United States and the UK in a hardcopy edition on September 17, 2005, by Bloomsbury Publishing (ISBN 1-58234-969-X).[7] It was subsequently released as a paperback version by Scholastic Books on October 31, 2006 (ISBN 0-439-87847-0).[7] A sequel titled The Lost Cities: A Drift House Voyage was released in 2007.

External links

References

  1. Swope, Sam (November 13, 2005). "Moonlighting". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  2. Jones, Michael M. "Schrödinger's Bookshelf: Young Adult and Short Fiction Reviews". SF Site. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  3. Edemariam, Aida (August 13, 2005). "Moonlighting". The Guardian: Diary (Guardian News and Media Limited). Retrieved 9 March 2009. The 22nd Edinburgh international book festival.
  4. "2007–08 Recommended Purchasing List for School Librarians Grades 6 – 8" (pdf). Chicago Schools: Department of Libraries and Information Services. August 30, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  5. "Drift House; Lost in time, with no land in sight". Bloomsbury USA. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  6. Sawtelle, Sarah. "Drift House: The First Voyage". Kidsreads.com. The Book Report Network. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Drift House: The First Voyage". Fantastic Fiction Ltd. Retrieved 2009-03-09.