The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

When I am subbing and the teacher has a silent reading time scheduled, I like to read, too, as a model for the students. The other day, I read Pearl Buck's The Big Wave. It is a very short book - almost an extended short story, but it is also quite lovely. It deals with the lives of two boys, one the son of a farmer, the other the son of a fisherman. The fisherman's son escapes the tidal wave that claims the lives of his family, as well as many of the other fishermen and their families. Their homes and their boats are all lost. The fisherman's son goes to live with the farmer's son. In simple, clear language, the children and their families learn to live and deal with nature's forces and the inevitability of death.