Cover of The Village by the Sea

The Village by the Sea

by Paula Fox

The Village by the Sea by Paula Fox is assigned in US schools at grades 4–9. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where The Village by the Sea is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 4–9
Pages
79
Reading time
about 1h 25m (est.)
First published
2016
Genre
Children's
ISBN-13
9781504037457
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About this book

Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award: A young girl learns some hard truths about human nature in this thought-provoking, beautifully crafted novel. Tomorrow, Emma's uncle is coming to take her to his house on Long Island while her father undergoes surgery and her mother stays with him in hospital. For two whole weeks, Emma will be stuck with her father's half-sister: the strange, bossy Aunt Bea. Luckily, Emma makes a friend at the beach, Bertie, and the two girls begin building a village made entirely of shells. There's the mayor's house, constructed of sand dollars and with a roof of pinecones, and the main street with white bubble shells. Every day the girls add to their village by the sea. Then, just before Emma is to return home, something awful happens. In this thoughtful novel,

Why widely assigned

This Children's title, typically at grades 4–9. Written in the 2010s; cited across 1 curriculum framework.

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is The Village by the Sea?
The Village by the Sea is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 4–9. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
How long does it take to read The Village by the Sea?
It takes about 1h 25m to read The Village by the Sea (79 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 85 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign The Village by the Sea?
The Village by the Sea appears on reading lists for Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is The Village by the Sea banned in schools?
The Village by the Sea does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 4–9 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: read-aloud.