How The Finnegans Saved The Ship

How The Finnegans Saved The Ship

By Jackie French

The Finnegans board the Anna Maria in Ireland bound for Australia to meet up with Mr. Finnegan. Mrs. Finnegan is paranoid that everything is going to sink the ship (I'd be paranoid too a year after the Titanic had sank), therefore she is driving her children up the wall. It does seem her worrying was justified when an iceberg looms ahead of them...

The book seamlessly blends historical fact with fiction, giving the reader an insight into what life was like back then and the feelings about migrating from one country to another.As with many of the other books I have read the main characters are on a quest (e.g. moving to a new country, trying to keep the family together and their mother sane). The back of the book gives deeper explanations into the history behind the book and even recipes for the food mentioned in the story.

I would use this book in a classroom to discuss the history of migration to Australia. There is many ways that this topic could be integrated with other learning areas (e.g. history and English - learners could research and write a diary of their own voyage to Australia with a historical perspective).