October

Abbey will be our hostess in October, and she has chosen 'Abel's Island' by William Steig. There are several copies of this award-winning book in the library.

One summer day, newlywed mice Abel and Amanda are out for a picnic in the woods when they are caught in a sudden storm--a "full-fledged, screaming hurricane" to be precise. As they take refuge in a cave, a wind scoops up Amanda's scarf, and Abel foolishly lunges from safety to retrieve it. Amazingly, Abel is swept up in a stream, then a river, then eventually marooned on an island (about 12,000 tails long). He is sure that his rescue is imminent, but he is not so lucky.

What will this intelligent, imaginative rodent do to get off the island and back to his beloved Amanda? He busies himself with finding ways to get to shore, figuring out what he should eat, and investigating where he should take shelter. As the weeks and months go by, he misses his books, his paintings, his comfortable stuffed chair, and his stylish clothes. Above all, he misses his precious wife Amanda and thinks of her constantly.

As the mouse faces his new life Robinson Crusoe-style, Abel discovers what it's like to be in tune with the natural world as well as his true nature; and what it's like to return, fortified, to his real home and to the arms of the one he loves.

Along the way, readers can't help but rediscover the joys of being alive.

We will meet at Abbey's house on October 27 at 7:00.