Book Description

An adventure by kayak through the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean and the third book in Annick Press' award-winning 'Adventure Travel' series.

The Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean are full of sharks, malaria, giant centipedes and crocodiles, and are also the home to lush jungle, beautiful cockatoos, waist-high orchids, and tropical butterflies.

Maria Coffey and husband Dag love to kayak. Their adventure begins in Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands, where Maria and Dag first encounter Pidgin English and men with mouths stained red from chewing betel nuts and lime. They snorkel incredible reefs alive with the rich blues, greens and reds of hundreds of fish, coral and clamshells -- and the odd lagoon shark! During their travels, they visit Skull Island, which houses the heads of dead chiefs; they learn to cook traditional food like taro and cassava roots; they witness the incredible, huge leatherback turtles burying their eggs in the sand and making decoy nest holes to fool the local monitor lizards. They even get lost among small, remote, uncharted islands. Yet everywhere Maria and Dag go, the locals welcome them with generosity and kindness.

Ever wonder about giant fruit bats, what a bathroom in the jungle looks like or what are the top ten uses for coconuts? Sidebars recount fascinating cultural facts and information from around the Islands. Maps are dispersed throughout the text with spectacular photography, enabling the reader to follow the kayak along its journey. An index is included for easy reference. ... Read more

Book Description

A new adventure with Teelo the cat.

At breakfast time on Cloud Island, Teelo is shocked to discover a rat nibbling at his food bowl. Immediately, he gives chase -- all over the house, around the other animals living with him and Victor the Vet, out the door, and up a tree. He corners the rat on a branch that stretches far out over the water. Just as Teelo is about to pounce, however, he hears a loud CCCC-RACK as the branch snaps in two.

Teelo tumbles into the sea. He flails and sputters, and then scrambles onto a log floating by. Teelo shakes the water out of his eyes only to discover that the log is drifting away from Cloud Island, taking him with it.

For a day and a half Teelo weathers life adrift on the log. He discovers new creatures in this strange world: silvery salmon, furry, bright-eyed sea otters, little puffins, and huge gray whales. He spends a terrifying night alone, tossed up and down on waves as a storm passes through.

Rescue finally comes when a wooden sailboat glides alongside Teelo. A young girl with wide brown eyes, named Lilly, and her grandfather pull Teelo onto their boat. After a few days, Teelo gets his sea legs and adjusts to life aboard the sailboat. Despite Grandpa's allergy to cats, Teelo soon becomes a part of the crew.

One day their journey brings Cloud Island into view. To get a better look at his old home, Teelo runs right up to the bow. When a big wave knocks him overboard, Teelo once more finds himself in the ocean. This time he is washed up on the shore of his old home and into the midst of his old friends. Now Lilly and Victor must decide where Teelo really belongs. ... Read more

Book Description

One summer day while Teelo the cat waits on the beach of his CloudIsland home, he hears a strange and sad crying noise - and it appears to becoming from a rock! Teelo investigates and is shocked when the rock moves. Itisn't a rock after all, but a young seal pup with beautiful brown eyes and agray speckled coat.

When Victor arrives home he assures Teelo that the pup's mother is only outfishing and will return soon. Yet that night, while Victor and his unique familyare cozy in their house, Teelo can still hear the lonely cries of the seal pupdrifting up from the beach.

The next evening the pup is still alone on the beach and Victor decides she mustcome to live in his house. But in a home crowded with a cat, a dog, hens, arooster, a parrot, a snake and a man, it is hard to find a place to put a seal!They finally decide that the bathtub will make a good spot and that Lucille willmake a good name. Victor spends much of his time catching fish to feed therapidly growing seal and to keep her plaintive cries at bay. When Lucille is oldenough, Victor decides it is time to return her to the sea - but she isterrified of the now unfamiliar ocean. Victor devises a clever trick to getLucille swimming again and soon she is splashing around where she belongs.

The house seems quieter now and Teelo wonders if he will ever see his friendagain. Several summers pass and then Teelo hears that same sad crying that firstintroduced Lucille to him. It is another seal pup! Lucille has brought her ownbaby to the beach that she knows is friendly.

This story is based on a real seal that Maria Coffey knew. A photograph of her,and information and speculation on the mystery of where she came from, areincluded at the back of the book.

Maria Coffey is the author of four adult travel adventure books. "A Cat in aKayak" (1997) was her first book for children. Maria lives on the West Coast ofCanada.

Eugenie Fernandes graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.Since then, she can lay claim to over 80 books, including "Lavender Moon" and "ACat in a Kayak." She lives in Peterborough, Ontario. ... Read more