by Pearl Buck
Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kina and Jiya has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be.
Pearl S. Buck is the author of many distinguished books for children and adults. She won the Child Study Association's Children's Book Award for The Big Wave, the Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Good Earth, and in 1938 received the Nobel Prize for literature.