Product Description

"I am so pleased to have written my first children's book and to have my dear friend Wendell Minor illustrate it. I thought it would be a daunting project, but with six grandchildren and eleven stepgrandchildren, I've been telling stories to children for a long time."

-- Mary Higgins Clark

Thomas loved his summer visits to his grandmother's on Cape Cod. He spent hours wondering about the sailing ships of the past and imagining their stories. He dreamed of being on a sailing ship himself. One afternoon after a night of terrible thunderstorms, Thomas finds, deep in the sand, a weathered, old-fashioned belt buckle. When he picks it up, a boy his own age, Silas Rich, who was a cabin boy on a ship called the Monomoy that sailed almost 250 years ago, appears. Suddenly the world of sailing ships is very near as Silas tells his tale.

Beloved and bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark tells a story of mystery and adventure that will transport readers to a time and place beyond their imaginings in her first book for children. Wendell Minor's inspired paintings make a time long ago very real.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55475 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-03
• Released on: 2007-04-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 1–3—While at his grandmother's Cape Cod home, Thomas finds an old belt buckle on the beach. He is then visited by a vision of a child named Silas, who once served as cabin boy to the very sea captain who owned the house. Silas tells Thomas how he and the other local boys once saved the captain's ship from mooncussers—villains who trick sailors by putting lanterns out on the beach to lead ships into shallow water and then steal their cargo. Silas and his friends set fire to the long stairs to the captain's house, so that he saw the house's outline and realized that he had been misled by the lanterns. Though the plot elements would seem thrilling enough-villainy, adventure, heroism—the telling of the story is wordy and meandering. Minor's paintings are atmospheric and fetching, but overall this book will appeal more to adults than to kids.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In her first children's book, a popular writer of adult thrillers and a familiar illustrator pair up to create a picture book that blends past and present. While visiting his grandmother in a 300-year-old house built by Andrew Hallett, a great sea captain, nine-year-old Thomas loves hearing the exciting stories of sailing ships that were sometimes wrecked on the rocks. One day after a heavy storm he finds an old belt buckle on the beach, and the ghost of Silas, the boy who owned the buckle in 1690, appears. Silas, who was Hallett's cabin boy, explains how he used a raging fire to save the captain's ship from the local mooncussers (thieves). The scenarios with the boys and Grandma are too idyllic, and kids may wonder how the fire was put out. The time-travel scenario is intriguing, however, as are the heroics, and children will like Minor's sturdy, richly colored artwork, which depicts raging fires, ghosts, and sun-dappled beaches with equal facility. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Mary Higgins Clark's books are world-wide bestsellers. In the U.S. alone, her books have sold over 85 million copies.

She is the author of twenty-seven previous suspense novels. Her first book, a biographical novel about George Washington, was re-issued with the title, Mount Vernon Love Story, in June 2002. Her memoir, Kitchen Privileges, was published by Simon & Schuster in November 2002. Her first children's book, Ghost Ship, illustrated by Wendell Minor, was published in April 2007 as a Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

She is co-author, with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, of four holiday suspense novels Deck the Halls (2000), He Sees You When You're Sleeping (2001), The Christmas Thief (2004) and Santa Cruise (2006).

Mary Higgins Clark was chosen by Mystery Writers of America as Grand Master of the 2000 Edgar Awards. An annual Mary Higgins Clark Award sponsored by Simon & Schuster, to be given to authors of suspense fiction writing in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition, was launched by Mystery Writers of America during Edgars week in April 2001. She was the 1987 president of Mystery Writers of America and, for many years, served on their Board of Directors. In May 1988, she was Chairman of the International Crime Congress.

Wendell Minor is the award-winning illustrator of dozens of picture books, including his own Yankee Doodle America, Robert Burleigh's Into the Woods, and Reaching for the Moon, written by Buzz Aldrin. Mr. Minor's work can be found in the permanent collections of such institutions as the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the Library of Congress. He lives with his wife, Florence, in Washington, Connecticut. Visit Wendell Minor at www.minorart.com.

Customer Reviews

An Enjoyable Cape Cod Ghost Stoy
Mary Higgins Clark, writing her first children's book, weaves a tale from the folklore of Cape Cod. Thomas, young boy who loves to hear stories of the old sailing ships, is visiting his grandmother's home on the Cape when he discovers a belt buckle washed up on the beach. The buckle conjures the ghost of a cabin boy who tells Thomas a tale of a plot against one of the Cape Cod sea captains. The story is a rousing adventure infused with a nautical feel, and a heroic climax. Illustrator Wendell Minor does gorgeous work here, and his visuals set the scene and become an integral part of the story, especially once the action gets going. He does a very nice subtle portrait of the ghost-boy, and his seascapes capture the Cape Cod dunes and harbors with an authentic feel. The prose is a little bit dry in the opening of the story, but it smoothes out once it finds its momentum. As a boy I always loved stories of sailors and pirates, and I think this is a story children will find appealing. And for those kids and parents with a connection to New England, there are some great bits of local history and geography in this story.

Awesome Children's book
I have be a fan of this author for years. This book surpassed all my expectations. What superb fiction for young readers! As always she uses her talent to spark the imagination without all the violence and gunplay of the modern world. I look forward to sharing the next with my children, too!

Another hit for Mary Higgins Clark!
Mary Higgins Clark is a wonderful storyteller and it is very evident with this children's book. Being an avid fan, I purchased the book to pass on to my granddaughter when she gets a little older. The illustrations are beautiful too. It will be a pleasure to introduce my granddaughter to Mary Higgins Clark, through her children's books!!