Cod Books

Collins gets it. Baseball people have a certain way about them, and Collins obviously is one of them; he also knows how to write about them. This book--an in-depth and endearing look at the 2002 Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League--shines with the polish of good baseball writing about a great baseball subject. The players and team staff come to life, as does the ebb and flow of a summer on the cape. The poignancy of this moment in time, in these specific lives and in this specific baseball season, got me a little misty-eyed at the end. These are the kinds of dreams everyone should have, at least once in awhile, even when they have to come to an end.

This is such a big part of why I love baseball.

This is a terrific book for any fan of baseball. The book discusses three main characters in how they came to baseball how they played growing up and in college and then how the fare in the Cape League. I've passed the book on to several others who have loved it as well. A must for any baseball fan.

This book offers excellent insight into what collegiate players will do to make it to the big leagues. The glimpses of small town fans are also interesting. The reader is exposed to a part of baseball few know much about. Informative and fun to read.

Simply a fantastic book. Well-researched, intriguing, personal, etc. Shows why baseball is unique as compared to all other sports. There are so many nuances always to explore. The Central Illinois League, another amateur summer league, is a good example of a smaller version of the Cape Cod League as well. Either way, this book was an easy read on a long plane ride. No other sport could have produced a book's topic/story like this. Well done, Mr. Collins. Well done, baseball, as always.

If you like decent writing and/or, you are a baseball fan, just read it. I thought about the book long after I had finished reading it.

This book is an interesting historical drama about two families with a long history of not getting along. The book alternates between historical chapters and present day (1991) chapters; the historical chapters begin with the Pilgrim voyage and then slowly progress up to the 1960s or thereabouts. I personally found the historical chapters to be the most interesting and was happy that they tended to be much longer than the ones that took place in the present. I read this before my planned Cape Cod vacation and, while I haven't gone there yet, I think it was a good way to get ready and learn a great deal about the area's history, geography, and character.

American History didn't hold much of an interest for me in school, but as I approach the half century mark, I am becoming more interested in the events that shaped our nation. CAPE COD is an outstanding read dating to the time the Mayflower approached our shores. After completing this novel, I read Nathaniel Philbrick's non-fiction MAYFLOWER, and discovered that, in addition to being a wonderful storyteller, William Martin is an excellent historian.

The author creatively presents the conflicts over the centuries between the Hilyard and Bigelow families, intertwined in the present with the struggles of the married couple at the heart of the story. Having read THE LOST CONSTITUTION, HARVARD YARD, BACK BAY and CAPE COD, this is my favorite Martin novel.

Fantastic book that alernates historical passages with present-day passages. The contrast shows the reader just how different life is today than it was when the pilgrims arrived.

This book is incredible and enduring - the author an amazing talent. I keep my book journal on my desk with the names of all authors that I check on occasionally for new offerings - and William Martin has soared to the top of the list. His characters are full bodied, flawed, human, believable and impossible to leave. The history is infallible and tangible. The story line is akin to your own family history. This book is over 700 pages and I felt like I flew through the centuries and grieved when it was through. I then purchased ALL his other books. This man has an amazing talent and you will do a disservice to your reading life if you miss out on his books. Please read!

This book is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read. The characters aren't loveable, but they are so human and real that it pulls you right into the story. The plot never gets dull, as it keeps changing time periods with different points. Even though I just recently finished it, I feel as though I could pick it up right now and read it again. It is relatively long, but completely worth the time that it takes to read.
The ending isn't as good as it could be, meaning about the last 3 pages, but considering how amazing the rest of the book was, that doesn't really bother me at all.

Old Mother West Wind was a gift for grandmother, who read her children stories from this series when we were young. Happy stories and illustrations for young elementary children. Good entertainment, useful for K-3 school. Loved it!

These stories were first told to his own children by Thornton Burgess. Then they were read to me by my mother over 60 years ago. They were long out of print when my own children were of the right age but they are back for my grandchildren. They are highly recommended.

This book was a gift to my 6 year-old grandson. He loves it; both the stories and the pictures. This is a book my mother read to me when I was little boy. My favorite character was Bobby Coon.

Thornton Burgess was a naturalist and the stories of animals in Old Mother West Wind are wonderful. The characters attitudes and behaviors are true to the animal portrayed. A wonderful way to get acquainted with nature. Perfect book for an adult to read to a younger child.

A book of short stories about animals who talk, _Old Mother West Wind_ is enjoyable for a child of about five years to about eight as a read aloud (or older, if your child isn't terribly worldly.) These short tales often attempt to explain "how", as in how the skunk got his stripe, and have, in addition to the animals, characters such as Mother Nature and the Merry Little Breezes.

Many of these stories attempt to teach a moral, though often it is not obvious due to the author's skill. These are old stories and they reflect the values of the time they were written in. My ADHD eleven year old read the book himself and enjoyed it and is looking forward to the sequel.

Here are the stories included:

1) Mrs. Redwing's Speckled Egg - Mrs. Redwing has just laid a beautiful new egg and the Merry Little Breezes must help keep it safe from Tommy Brown.

2) How Reddy Fox Was Surprised - When Johnny Chuck wanders too far from home, Reddy Fox decides to play a trick on him. But the joke's on Reddy Fox.

3) Why Grandfather Frog Has No Tail - Grandfather Frog tells the Merry Little Breezes why Mother Nature took away all frogs' tails.

4) Why Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes - When Mrs. Ruffed Grouse's eggs are destroyed by "a pair of eyes," the whole forest seeks the culprit. When Jimmy Skunk is found out, his days of night camouflage are over. (This was my son's favorite.)

5) The Willful Little Breeze - When one of the Merry Little Breezes stays in the Green Meadow after Old Mother West Wind has gone home behind the Purple Hills, he foils Hooty the Owl and Reddy Fox's plans to eat Mr. Bob White and his family.

6) Reddy Fox Goes Fishing - While Reddy Fox sleeps, he dreams he can fish as well as Billy Mink, but Reddy Fox just ends up all wet.

7) Jimmy Skunk Looks for Beetles - As Jimmy Skunk looks for beetles, he doesn't make any friends, but is rather selfish and destructive. However, the adventure really starts when Peter Rabbit decides to help.

8) Billy Mink's Swimming Party - Billy Mink invites Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otter to a swimming party at the Smiling Pool.

9) Peter Rabbit Plays a Joke - When Peter Rabbit tries to play a joke on Johnny Chuck and Reddy Fox, the joke back-fires.

10) How Sammy Jay Was Found Out - When Happy Jack's store of nuts disappears, Old Mother West Wind forms a committee of the whole to solve the mystery.

11) Jerry Muskrat's Party - When Jerry Muskrat throws a swim party, many of his guests aren't having any fun. Then, Little Joe Otter comes up with an idea that saves the party.

12) Johnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World - When Striped Chipmunk hears Old Mother West Wind tell the Slender Fir Tree that she's found the Best Thing in the World, everyone starts to search for it--and everyone imagines it as something different.

13) Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox Play Tricks - When Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox trap Johnny Chuck inside his home, Jimmy Skunk helps Johnny Chuck surprise the two of them.

14) The Tale of Tommy Trout, Who Didn't Mind - Though Tommy Trout's mother tried to warn him of the dangers outside of their little pool, Tommy Trout didn't listen.

15) Little Joe Otter's Slippery Slide - When Little Joe Otter, Billy Mink, and Jerry Muskrat build a mud slide on the bank of the Smiling Pool, Peter Rabbit's curiosity gets the best of him.

16) Spotty the Turtle Wins a Race - When Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox, and Billy Mink decide to race to see who's fastest, Peter Rabbit teases Spotty the Turtle that he should join. Spotty the Turtle does, and uses his mind to win the race.

Delightful! This book would make a good family movie with Graig T. Nelson playing "Captain" Dad!I'm sure I will never get to see Cape Cod; however, after reading Rick's book, I feel I have been there. Thanks Rick!
"Aunt Marge" Robicheaux

Family vacations can be fun times to remember, especially when the distance of years softens even the most stressful calamities from the past. This book documents the Cape Cod adventures of a Pennsylvania-based family over the course of the last thirty-five years. Author Rick Seidel is quick to remind us that he's grown up to be a doctor, not a writer. But his passions for both his family and for that special sandy Massachusetts peninsula come through loud and clear with his well-chosen words.

For four generations of Seidels, the annual one-week summer destination has been the town of Truro, just south of Provincetown. The men launch their boats into Cape Cod Bay from Pamet Harbor and settle in for some fishing. The women spend time sunbathing and going shopping / people-watching in Provincetown. The kids go one way or the other, or find their own interests to pursue. And so, Rick's stories include details of fishing, boating, and other beach-oriented activities, like the best method for ordering lobster. It's the history of one extended middle-class family; and yet, these are vignettes we can certainly all relate to. The volume concludes with 26 pages of b&w family photos that give us a chance to see in person the main characters who appear in the rest of the book.

"Sunsets and Shooting Stars" is a fun and quick read that should appeal to Baby Boomers, fellow Cape Cod vacationers, and anyone who loves the beach. It's the kind of memoir that makes you want to write your own.

There was a smile on my face the entire time I was reading. I do not know what I enjoyed more, the authors detailed chronicle of the profound love for his childhood vacation spot or for his family. I can not wait until there are enough memories saved up for part two!

Laugh out loud funny! You will absolutely enjoy this book. A must read and so well written! It also warms the heart with the stories of family and brings back your own memories of family vacations past.

I really enjoyed reading the book. I feel anyone that has any family ties at all can relate to this book. I often found myself laughing out loud.

We just lost our Golden Reteiever of 10 years totally unexpected due to cancer. She ran off to die. We were able to find her and bury her in our backyard. "Amy", the Golden in the book is like our Chantal who loved the Gulf beaches. For any Golden owner, this is MUST have book to help with the loss of the best breed of dog I've ever encountered.

I laughed and cried when I read this book. Vanderbilt truly depicts life with a Golden. My son was devastated when we lost our twelve-year old Golden; I sent him this book so he could, like the author, reflect on the joy of having one of these incredible dogs in our life. The author truly touches the sacred moments we share with these beautiful creatures. A must read for Golden owners.

You don't have to own a golden retriever to read and really enjoy this beautiful book. As a dog lover that I am, I read anything which has to do with dogs regardless of breed. This book is similar to "the dogs of our lives", a book which touches your heart and brings tears & laughter as you read it. Thank you Mr. Vanderbilt for sharing your memories with us.

This is a beautiful, honest book about a family's love for their Golden Retriever. While the humans in the story are skillfully drawn, the central character is Amy--a loving and loved Golden Retriever. I cried at the end of the book. The lesson of the book is that a much loved dog can have a dramatic impact on a family's life--even if she isn't a search and rescue or therapy dog.

I will admit right off the bat that the Chatham neighborhood that Amy and her human family inhabit is also my neighborhood. But I am sad to say that I never met Amy who sounded like a wonderful dog. All dogs are wonderful, in my book, and certainly in Arthur Vanderbilt's book "Golden Days." This is one of those tales where, although you know how it ends, you still weep at the end. Months later, certain scenes-- such as Amy's unusual love of bananas-- stick in the memory so that you feel you really knew Amy. "Golden Days" is a book about a golden retriever and it's also about those golden days of summer in a certain special place that Arthur Vanderbilt knows very well. I recommend this book for anyone who has ever cared for a dog. For anyone who has ever loved Cape Cod. In fact, I recommend this book, which is profoundly moving without being sappy, to everyone!

In "Bandy," author Marcia Martin recounts a true tale of devotion and perseverance. The book's prose is lyrical as it chronicles the real life experiences of the author's developing relationship with a courageous and affectionate one-legged Canada goose named Bandy. "Bandy" is at once compelling and inspiring-just what the book doctor ordered in a new millennium filled with so many bad tidings. It's a story that can be appreciated by young and old readers alike.

If you like a heart-warming story of courage and overcoming incredible odds, this book is for you. Marcia does a wonderful job showing us how nature can teach us something about our own lives. Bandi the goose is an inspiration for making the most of what you have despite your trials and tribulations. I highly recommend this book to anyone coping with life's challenges, which is everyone at some time or another. We can learn so much from a goose!

In stark contrast to human strife and the tragic events of our present world, Bandy is a wonderful story of love and compassion. It teaches important lessons about life and true happiness.

JAMES F. HALL, President Emeritus, Cape Cod Community College

Bandy was one of many wild canada geese visting Marcia's pond - and yet he was special and brave and drew her attention. Since he wore a band she was able to identify him and enjoy his repeat visits. Unfortunately, Bandy became injured which caused him to lose status with the geese - however, the bond between Bandy and Marcia strengthened and this story is very much about their special relationship. It is easy to feel the love that Marcia has for Bandy and to find oneself rooting hard for Bandy.

If you enjoy stories about special animals, this book is for you. I was originally nervous to read it, thinking it may be too sad for me. But while it is, of course, sad that Bandy was injured, the book doesn't stop there or even dwell on this. Rather the story continues with Bandy's courage, intelligence, and special friendship with Marcia. I read the book in just a couple of hours and then ordered another copy to give as a gift. It is the kind of story you want to share.

Marcia Martin has a gift for storytelling, and in her warm and open and down-to-earth style, she shares with us an amazing and enchanting story about her friendship with a very special one-legged Canada goose named Bandy. It is a story about compassion and dedication, love and trust, and what we can learn from nature and its denizens about adversity. Indeed, Bandy has much to teach us about courage and perseverance and resilience, and by telling his story, Marcia Martin has given us a most wonderful and inspiring gift.

This book was really inspiring it teaches you that you can do things if you really set your mind into it and if you gives you some poems that teaches you about anything. This book was about that the the library was closing down and Willa was very surprised she loved that library so much. So then she told everyone to raise enough money to save the library so she ended up making dances with the help of her best friend Tina of course. JFK the boy willa likes also supported her and lets see how things end up with those two. It was really romantic and it also mention some parts of the first book " The Wedding Planners Daughter" i really recommend this to everyone and really you'll love it and just to warn you that once you read this book you just cant stop reading!

Willa is back and just entering her freshman year of high school. Things are going great. Her mom and her new husband, Willa's old English teacher, are happily running a Bed and Breakfast of sorts, and things have relaxed a bit.

But Willa has two new problems now - figuring out whether JFK loves her or some other girl, and keeping the Bramble Library from closing due to lack of funds. Working as the school's Community Service leader and hosting semi-romantic dances may just help Willa save the library -- and find some romance for herself.

Following in the footsteps of the first book in the series, THE WEDDING PLANNER'S DAUGHTER, THE CUPID CHRONICLES includes the perfect amount of humor to make a laugh-out-loud funny book, without overdoing it. The writing style keeps the reader intrigued throughout the entire story, and the characters are so easy to relate to that you feel as if you're really inside their heads.

This is by far my favorite tween series and I'd recommend it to everyone, no matter what their age. I think this series may even be a good read for 7th- or 8th-graders to read in class. I can't wait to read the third book of the series, WILLA BY HEART, and hope you decide to, as well.

Reviewed by: Harmony

Willafred Havisham is not your everyday Bramble, Cape Cod kind-of girl. She's the girl that sits in the corner and reads, rather than joining the party. But in the The Cupid Chronicles, Willafred, also known as Willa, steps out of the box and speaks up.Willa and her best friend Tina are enjoying their wonderful life in Bramble. But when Willa hears the news that the Bramble Board is closing the local library, Willa looks for ways to stop them. But with things getting in her way, like her cutie crush Joey(also known to Willa as JFK) who kissed her, then moved away. Well he moves back and is excited to see Willa again. Can she fight to save the library and fight against cupid for the chance at love with JFK? You will just have to read the book to find out!

Willafred Havisham is not your everyday Bramble, Cape Cod kind-of girl. She's the girl that sits in the corner and reads, rather than joining the party. But in the The Cupid Chronicles, Willafred, also known as Willa, steps out of the box and speaks up.Willa and her best friend Tina are enjoying their wonderful life in Bramble. But when Willa hears the news that the Bramble Board is closing the local library, Willa looks for ways to stop them. But with things getting in her way, like her cutie crush Joey(also known to Willa as JFK) who kissed her, then moved away. Well he moves back and is excited to see Willa again. Can she fight to save the library and fight against cupid for the chance at love with JFK? You will just have to read the book to find out!

Willafred Havisham is not your everyday Bramble, Cape Cod kind-of girl. She's the girl that sits in the corner and reads, rather than joining the party. But in the The Cupid Chronicles, Willafred, also known as Willa, steps out of the box and speaks up.Willa and her best friend Tina are enjoying their wonderful life in Bramble. But when Willa hears the news that the Bramble Board is closing the local library, Willa looks for ways to stop them. But with things getting in her way, like her cutie crush Joey(also known to Willa as JFK) who kissed her, then moved away. Well he moves back and is excited to see Willa again. Can she fight to save the library and fight against cupid for the chance at love with JFK? You will just have to read the book to find out!

Wonderful story! I felt like I was watching a movie. A really good movie. This book goes back to the things that were once inportant in life: Honor, Friendship, Love, Romance, Respect and just plan trying to do the right thing even when it hurts. Please write more!

Just a wonderful book. The ending through me for a loop. It was hard to put down once I got started. Great story, great characters. I recomend it for anyone.

"Tangible Memories is the best book that I have ever read about pure love.This book was an amazing love story that keeps you flipping the pages to see what happens.It toook my breath away and made me cry. It also made me happy and helped me believe that there is honestly a soulmate for everyone. It was astonishing to me that Jackie and Lewis could feel each others pain and love miles away and over the years. It is a great, real love story. "Tangible Memories" touchs your heart and soul.

I'm not a very fast reader, but I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late after work to finish this wonderful book. It's the best love story i've read in a long time, maybe the best love story i've ever read. I gave it five stars, but its a seven star book. I'll be looking for more to read from this wonderful author. Thanks bill, you made me feel great. Julie

Wow! What an adventure. I fell in love with all Lewis. I wish someone like that really existed. I loved the story and didn't want it to end. I'm all tingly inside. I'm gonna have to read this loving story again!

Henry David Thoreau is one of America's greatest literary treasures, and this Library of America compilation of his four complete, full-length books is an excellent purchase for any Thoreau fan. It includes possibly Thoreau's most famous work, Walden, as well as lesser-known (but still immensely inspired and entertaining)works. I would highly recommend this purchase to any interested Thoreau reader, as I am yet to find a comparable compilation for nearly as good a deal as this.

It was Thoreau who made me understand that writing had everything to do with one's sum total and worth as a human being, and everything to do with one's passion and sense of purpose in life. It was while reading from an anthology of his work that I first made contact with a superior being. I recognized a mind that I could be intimate with, a mind and soul of someone with whom I could spend endless hours and never cease to learn from.


Thoreau's style is cumbersome. He can be terribly dry, and his paragraphs run way too long. But who cares when passages ignite the page with brilliance, flame from the black and white of paper into the depths of one's being. 'Walden' has more profound and relevant quotes than any other book I've read. They're the purest gems to be found in the rough of a larger work. A work that I wouldn't dare to diminish, but forewarn the reader so that they have the patience and perseverance to continue.


I would like to mention a superb biography written on the life and mind of Thoreau, a biography that exceeds and exceeds in going deeper into the life and mind of this great and humane and very misunderstood man, it is called: 'Henry Thoreau -- A Life Of The Mind,' by Robert D. Richardson Jr. Mr. Richardson not only wrote a biography, he was on a mission, for he knew and believed in what his subject was about. As comprehensive, insightful and exhilerating as any biography can or should be.


The price and quality of this anthology can't be beat. Beautiful to read and beautiful to see on my book shelf. Buy it! Get to know this man of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

While reading the four books of Henry David Thoreau (1817 -- 1862) included in this volume, I was reminded of the piano sonata no. 2, the "Concord" sonata by the American composer Charles Ives (1874 -- 1954) and decided to listen to it again to complement my reading. The Concord is a monumental work in which Ives tried to capture the "spirit of transcendentalism" associated with Concord, Massachusetts. Its four large movements bear the names of Emerson, Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, and Thoreau. The "Thoreau" movement of the Concord captured in music for me what I had been reading in Thoreau's texts, with its reflective arpeggios, long hymnlike introspective passages, distant sounds of bells, and quiet close. Ives wrote the movement, he said, to reveal the "vibration of the universal lyre" to which Thoreau had alluded in the chapter of Walden titled "Sounds". Those who love Thoreau or the American Transcendentalists should explore Ives's great musical tribute to them and their thought.

This volume is the first of two in the Library of America devoted to Thoreau, with the second book consisting of essays and poems. It includes the two books published during his lifetime, "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" and "Walden" together with two books published shortly after his death, "The Maine Woods" and "Cape Cod". The former two books are philosophical and introspective in tone, even though they include much of the descriptive writing about nature for which Thoreau is famous. They are the writings of Thoreau the Transcendentalist, the Thoreau of Ives's Concord Sonata. The second two books are describes Thoreau's travels. They originated the American practice of writing about nature.

Thoreau's most famous book, "Walden" describes the two years he spent living at Walden Pond, near Concord, from 1845 -- 1847 on a tract owned by Emerson. Walden is deservedly an American classic, as Thoreau reflects upon and attempts to simplify his life, to appreciate it for itself and for the everyday, without the strains of commerce or the pursuit of wealth. It is an eloquent study of learning to be alone with and content with oneself.

Thoreau wrote the first draft of "Walden" while he resided there and also wrote "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" which in 1849 became his first published book, enjoying little success at the time. This book describes a trip Thoreau took with his brother and there are many detailed observations of people, places, and plants and animals. But the book is full of detailed digressions on literature, philosophy, the Greek Classics, friendship, and Thoreau's religious beliefs. This book shows the large influence of Eastern thought on Thoreau. It is filled with allusions and quotations from poetry on virtually every page. It is a joy to read.

There is little overt philosophising in Thoreau's latter two books. But both these books made me want to leave, at least for a short time, my life in the city and to run and visit the wild places Thoreau described. In "The Maine Woods" Thoreau describes three trips he took to Nortwest Maine -- its forests, rivers, lakes, and mountains, in 1843, 1853, and 1857. It includes detailed descriptions of rugged camping, in the rain and sun, on water and on land. The higlight for me was Thoreau's discussion in the first essay of the book of his climb on Mount Ktaadn, with Thoreau's description replete with both actual description and ancient Greek and American Indian symbolism.

Thoreau's final book, "Cape Cod" describes three visits in 1849, 1850, and 1853 (A fourth, later visit to the Cape is not included in the book.) This is Thoreau's only book which features the ocean and the seashore. It describes a rugged place, but the tone is leisurely and humorous in many places as Thoreau takes his reader on a thirty-mile "ramble" over the Cape. Thoreau introduces a memorable character in his chapter "The Wellsfleet Oysterman" and draws a picture of a lighthouse, no longer standing, on the Cape, "The Highland Light." Reading this book made me want to walk the sands and dunes that Thoreau walked and described over 150 years ago.

As with all volumes in the LOA series, this volume is lightly annotated but includes a valuable chronology of Thoreau's life which helps in approaching the texts. Transcendentalism and naturalism both have played critical roles in the development of American thought and you will find them both here. And if you enjoy Thoreau, I encourage you again to approach Ives's masterpiece, the "Concord Sonata" and meet Thoreau realized in sound.

Robin Friedman

While every artist is tied to their time and place, this is especially true of Henry David Thoreau. To me, Thoreau has always seemed like a beautiful and tender plant that could only exist in a specific time and place. His world was rich enough to allow him to enjoy nature rather than see it as something to tame. Yet it was also rural enough to leave him natural space to enjoy as if it were wild.

It also seems to me that Thoreau's writing is more beautiful and observant than penetrating and intelligent. It is more about the senses than analysis. I think this is why it appeals so much to young people of so many generations and why he became such a symbol for the Back-to-Nature portion of the Boomer generation.

This volume contains his most influential works (the essays and poems are collected in a companion volume also from the wonderful Library of America): A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, The Main Woods, and Cape Cod. So much has been written about these works that I can't think of anything specific to add except to encourage their being read. However, I would encourage adults who remember reading them in their youth with such enthusiasm to read them again from the vantage point of mid-life. I think they will find somewhat less to be enamored of in the content, but they will appreciate his sheer power of writing more.

The total collection is more than a 1,000 pages and includes a chronology of Thoreau's life, notes on the text, relevant maps of the areas covered in the book, more notes, and an index.

I would like to publicly thank Henry David Thoreau for teaching me this:

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." -Henry David Thoreau

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

What a sweet and wonderful book. The rhythm of the text is so very pleasant to hear, and the words are so delicately chosen. The illustrations are textural watercolors. They are lively and colorful and a perfect complement to the fun text.

I was inspired to buy this book as a result of the recent emergence of the 17-yr cicadas where I live. After seeing them in my yard, and watching them hatch from their shells in their lovely brilliance, it is hard not to appreciate these critters as they follow their destiny.

This books celebrates the life cycle of the cicadas - and symbolically the cycle of life for every being. I highly recommend this book!!

I love this book and so do my two nieces (ages 5 and 6 & 3/4.) The adorable illustrations and the heartwarming story of Cecilia have transformed cicadas from a scary menace into an animal that you'd want to pal around with. It's sophisticated enough to be educational, but simple and clever enough to share with a child of any age. The fundamental lessons of the importance of patience and love really shine through. If you live in a place with cicadas, this book is a must, and if you don't, reading it may make you consider a move. I highly recommend this book for any child with a curiosity about the world.

This engaging and clever story tells of a lovable little Cicada with a fun personality. The story teaches about the cicada's long life cycle in an engaging way. The illustrations are terrific, transforming a scary ugly bug into something cute and unthreatening. My nephews in the Philly area loved it!

This is a wonderful, heartwarming story about a cicada. It's funny, touching, and has wonderful illustrations. Even if the cicada invasion is over in your area, be sure to get a copy or two. You'll enjoy it now and you'll be glad you have it in 2021 when the cicadas begin their next serenade.

A wonderful story of patience and hope, beautifully illustrated. It tells of Cecily's time underground, her joyous emergence aboveground, and her meeting with "Mr. Right". My favorite line is: "When you see a cicada please give her a smile, 'cause you may not see one again for a while".