Novels for Young People
Lea Wait’s novels for ages 8-14 are all set in the town of Wiscasset, Maine, with the exception of Seaward Born, which begins in Charleston, South Carolina, and then moves to Boston, Massachusetts, before - you guessed it! – moving to Wiscasset. In setting several stand-alone books in the same place but in different years, Lea shows readers how towns, and the ways people live in them, change over the years, although some problems young people deal with today, like bullying, they also dealt with in 1820 (Wintering Well) and 1838 (Finest Kind.)
Although the major characters in Lea’s books are fictional, most of her minor characters were real people who lived in Wiscasset, and many of the events in her books actually took place. Historical notes at the back of each of her books explain “which are which,” and give a little more historical background for the period in which the book is set.
Common Core Standards illustrated throughout Lea Wait’s books include
* Influences of setting on characters and plot
* Changes in communications and transportation over the years
* How households in small towns are economically interdependent
* How needs of individuals are met in different periods
* How beliefs (re: education, women, the disabled) and traditions (e.g. how holidays are celebrated have changed over the years
To see specific suggestions for illustrations of Common Core Standards in each of the books, see the Teacher Guides under Educators/Book Clubs on this website.
Brenda Erickson, has created a map of Lea Wait’s Wiscasset which includes all the locations mentioned in Lea’s four historical novels. To see it (without the key to the locations, which is part of the poster,) click HERE. The poster is 11 x 17 inches. To get one for your classroom or child, send $10, which includes shipping, to Lea Wait, P.O. Box 225, Edgecomb, Maine 04556. Add $6 for each additional copy.
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