BOOK 



MARKET 



Cowal recommends two of 

 Charles H. Whedbee's many volumes 

 about the coast: Outer Banks Myster- 

 ies and Seaside Stories (1978) for 

 grades five and up, and Outer Banks 

 Tales to 

 Remember 

 (1985) for 

 grades four to 

 eight. Says 

 Cowal, "These 

 traditional 

 folktales are 

 stories people 

 have been 

 telling for 

 generation 

 after genera- 

 tion, and kids 

 are still 

 interested in 

 them." They 

 also help 

 children 

 develop an 

 appreciation 

 for the coast 

 and its 

 heritage. 



Part of 

 that heritage is 

 pirate lore, a 

 topic sure to 

 enthrall young 

 minds. Older 

 kids — grades 

 four and up — 

 will enjoy 

 learning about 

 the lives of the 

 pirates who roamed 

 the sea from Rhode 

 Island to Florida in 

 Blackbeard and Other 

 Pirates of the Atlantic Coast (1993) by 

 Nancy Roberts. And younger children, 

 from kindergarten to fourth grade, will 

 stay wide-eyed while reading Jane 

 Yolen's The Ballad of the Pirate 

 Queens (1995). "She's a fantastic 



young people's fiction writer," says 

 Cowal. "And this is a high quality 

 adventure book for kids that is based 

 on historical events." The female 

 protagonists will be a surprise to kids 



who think that only swashbuck- 

 ling men terrorized the seas. 

 Of all the coastal sights to see, 

 lighthouses are among the most 

 fascinating to children. For second 

 to fourth graders, Gail Gibbons' 

 Beacons of Light: Lighthouses (1990) 

 is a good pick. The beautifully 

 illustrated book explains how light- 

 houses have evolved through time. 



Cindy Corey's Exploring the Light- 

 houses of North Carolina (1982) 

 introduces children in grades four and 

 up to 10 North Carolina lighthouses. 

 Little kids and big kids alike will 

 appreciate 

 Cowal's 

 favorite nature 

 guides. Certain 

 to satisfy the 

 curious child 

 in all of us, 

 these classic 

 volumes make 

 gifts of lasting 

 value. Two of 

 the guides are 

 appropriate for 

 children grades 

 four and up: 

 Birds of the 

 Carolinas 

 (1980) by E.F. 

 Potter, J.F. 

 Parnell and 

 R.P. Tuelings 

 and Mammals 

 of the Caroli- 

 nas, Virginia 

 and Maryland 

 (1985) by 

 W.D. Webster, 

 J.F. Parnell 

 and W.C. 

 Biggs Jr. 

 Children 

 grades seven 

 and up can 

 identify their 

 favorite 



slithery critters with Bernard S. 

 Martof's Amphibians and Reptiles of 

 the Carolinas and Virginia (1980). 

 "These guides provide extensive 

 coverage with photos and maps and 

 good descriptions. Though written for 

 adults, little kids are just as interested 

 in them as older kids," Cowal says. 

 "I would have loved to get these for 

 Christmas when I was a child." □ 



Herman Lankford 



COASTWATCH 29 



