Liberty's Passage

Liberty's Passage is a 1958 Historical Fiction novel written by David Mellers.

Plot
The Book follows eight-year-old Irish Immigrant named Charlie as he and his family travel to America on a ship named the SS Reginald Bachler, During a storm the first mate dies by falling overboard and through shenanigans young Charlie assumes his position and must help the crew and navigate the rough Atlantic while still being only eight.

Origins
Liberty's Passage was loosely based off of when David Mellers traveled to the United Kingdom when he was twelve on a ocean liner, He began writing Liberty's Passage in late 1956 while looking back on his memories of when he was twelve traveling the Atlantic.

Release
Liberty's Passage was published by Young Readers on May 18th 1958 and was a commercial success and people loved the novel for its rich storytelling and struggles of the main character Charlie, In 1960 the book won the Newberry Medal for Children's Literature.

Movie
In 1975 a live action adaptation was released of the novel which was a box office success with a total of twelve Million dollars made from its two million budget.

Legacy
The book is often read in school in the intermediate grades and is commonly cited as an example of rich storytelling and world building in Language Arts classes.