The Big Wave

The author of The Good Earth tells a poignant story about two boys whose friendship and courage help them survive an overwhelming tragedy

On a mountainside in Japan, two boys enjoy a humble life governed by age-old customs. Jiya belongs to a family of fishermen; his best friend, Kino, farms rice. But when a neighboring volcano erupts and a tidal wave swallows their village—including Jiya’s family—life as they know it is changed forever. The orphaned Jiya must learn to come to terms with his grief. Now facing a profoundly different life than the one he’d always taken for granted, he must decide on a new way forward.

Written with graceful simplicity, The Big Wave won the Children’s Book Award of the Child Study Association of America when it was first released.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Pearl S. Buck including rare images from the author’s estate.