The Summer of Cecily

Rating:
Summary: What if you had a seal on your sofa? A real seal!
Review: Nan Lincoln's story of the summer she spent raising (with the permission of the authorities) an abandoned seal pup is the most endearing story I think I've ever read. Her tale of her struggles to get it to eat, swimming with it, riding around with a seal in the car, carting Cecily to the shore in a wheel barrow, then, finally, successfully integrating it back into nature is destined to be a classic. Ms. Lincoln has a wonderfully readable prose style and the story is absolutely unique. I can't imagine anyone not being delighted with it. A friend called it "a little jewel."

This is not a children's book, although it contains both photographs and sketches of her amazing experience and will be enjoyed by all ages. The youngest children won't be interested in her bits of history about Mount Desert Island, I suspect. Mom or Dad can skip those parts when reading out loud.

This should be a movie. Where's Michael Eisner when we need him

Rating:
Summary: The Summer of Cecily_ the best book of the summer!!!
Review: You're on a beach- the tide is coming in- you see an abandoned seal pup halfway under a rock. What would you do? When Nan Lincoln sees the pup on the beach in the early summer of 1976 she feels like she should adopt it, six hours later she decided to and she did. She named the pup Cecily. She keeps Cecily for the summer and finds ways to make her life as similar as it would be to the life of other pups. Cecily has an attitude that is expressed by Nan (in English not seal language) and is very funny to read about. In the first chapter however Nan mostly writes about the setting and her family which is also explained in chapter 2. Soon the book heats up and she finds Cecily and you are brought along on the ride of your life as you go through the summer with Cecily, Nan, and Nan's family. Each chapter brings a new laugh to the scene.
Nan has a unique writing style that is very descriptive and specific. She has written a very unique book that would be perfect for a 4th Grade read-aloud or an independent reading book for other grades as well as 4th Grade. Her writing style is also sometimes straying to short sub-topics of the story to help you understand other parts of the story. All in all I would give this book 5 star rating.

-- Caroline Miller