Picture Books

Chadwick the Crab

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishers, 1986

ISBN: 978-0-87033-347-7

Ages 5 and up

Chadwick is a happy Chesapeake Bay blue crab who enjoys a wide circle of friends - quiet Orville Oyster, Matilda (a fussy, near-sighted egret), Toulouse the Canada Goose, Bernie the Sea Gull and especially Esmerelda, the prettiest girl crab in the entire bay. But Chadwick yearns for adventure and decides that more than anything else he wants to be a star at the aquarium in Baltimore. This is the story of how one little crab realizes a very big dream.


Chadwick and the Garplegrungen

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishers, 1987

ISBN: 978-0-87033-377-4

Ages 5 and up

What is that awful green and purple gunk bubbling up in the normally blue waters of the Chesapeake Bay? Chadwick the Crab and his friends call it garplegrungen; people call it pollution. Whatever its name, Chadwick decides he has to get rid of it. Dr. Mallard (that old quack) tells him it's no use. But with the help of old and new friends, such as stately Baron von Heron and Belly Jeans, the shy flounder, Chadwick finds a way to save the Bay.


Chadwick's Wedding

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishers, 1989

ISBN: 978-0-87033-390-3

Ages 5 and up

Wedding shells are ringing! Chadwick the Crab is getting married and everyone is preparing for the big event! Esmerelda is choosing her bridesmaids, Baron von Heron is writing the ceremony (in rhyme, of course), and Toulouse, the gourmet Canada goose, is baking a corn and eelgrass cake. But then, just as Chadwick begins to have second thoughts about marriage, Esmerelda disappears! Suddenly, the wedding of off and the search is on.


Chadwick Forever

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 1993

ISBN: 978-0-87033-450-4

Ages 5 and up

Chadwick the Crab and Bernie the Sea Gull are worried they're going to lose a good friend forever. Hester, the Delmarva fox squirrel, has discovered a book telling her she's on the endangered species list. Not only that, but there's a mysterious monster lurking around Shady Creek. And all this happens just when Chadwick and Esmerelda are getting ready to welcome their big little family home.


Meet Chadwick

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 1999

ISBN: 978-0-87033-516-7

Ages 2 and up

Especially for the picture-book audience, Meet Chadwick introduces Chadwick, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab, and his many friends including Bernie the Sea Gull, Toulouse the Canada Goose, Matilda Egret, Hector Spector the Jellyfish and Orville Oyster. As the story goes: 'Though Chadwick and his many friends are different as can be, they live together happily in a bay, beside the sea.'


The Chadwick Coloring Book

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 1988

ISBN: 978-0-87033-389-7

Ages 2 and up

Children can color characters and scenes from the Chadwick stories.


Beddy Bye in the Bay

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-7643-3450-4

Ages 2 and up

The creatures of the Chesapeake Bay come to life in this delightful, informative story about how and where they sleep. Herons, crabs, clams, turtles and fish each find a different place to rest in the water and along the shore. When it's time for good night, beddy bye in the Bay, Every animal sleeps in a different way. They may not wear pajamas or slippers like you, But they love to be warm, safe, and comfortable, too.


Beetle Boddiker

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishing, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-87033-602-7

Ages 2 and up

Beneath the back steps, by a rock in the shade, Beetle Boddiker lives in the house that he made... A cautious old beetle, he rarely leaves home. "The backyard is a jungle," he says. "I won't roam." But one day Beetle Boddiker finds the courage to cross the backyard to see his brother and the adventures begin.


Santa Claws, The Christmas Crab

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2006

ISBN: 978-0-87033-576-1

Ages 2 and up

Travel beneath the Chesapeake Bay where Spud, a feisty young blue crab, hates to nap. Waking his underwater friends, Spud launches a rollicking Christmas Eve party that is interrupted by an unexpected traveler in need of Spud's help. Can Spud help bring Christmas to the Bay?


Chesapeake ABC

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2000

ISBN: 978-0-87033-525-9

Ages 2 and up

A is for anchor, B for boat and bay. Come and learn the alphabet. Have fun - the Chesapeake way!


Chesapeake 1-2-3

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2002

ISBN: 978-0-87033-542-6

Ages 2 and up

Chesapeake 1-2-3 introduces children to numbers by using special sights found in and around the Bay. As a companion book to the popular Chesapeake ABC, this book will delight youngsters with its clever rhymes and whimsical drawings. Do you know how to count? Do you enjoy the Bay? Take a look inside this book And count the Chesapeake way!


Chesapeake Rainbow

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 2004

ISBN: 978-0-87033-542-6

Ages 2 and up

Chesapeake Rainbow helps youngsters learn their colors. The book is a bright and wonderful companion book to the popular Chesapeake ABC and Chesapeake 1-2-3. Blue is the color of the water in the Bay, And blue is the color of a perfect day. The heron that we call Great Blue is blue. The stripe down a crab's leg? It's blue, too. Blue is a color of the Chesapeake Bay. Let's think of another that we see everyday. . .


Toulouse: The Story of a Canada Goose

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Schiffer Publishing, 1995

ISBN: 978-0-87033-460-3

Ages 5 and up

Toulouse the Canada Goose has been getting into mischief ever since he was a little yellow gosling. But nothing compares with the trouble he finds on his first fall migration to Maryland. Separated from his family, he is left to find his own way south with a lost snow goose, who becomes a special friend for life. Theirs is a love story that children and grownups alike will treasure.


Oswald and the Timberdoodles

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishers, 1990

ISBN: 978-0-87033-411-5

Ages 3 and up

Oswald is a great blue heron with a great big problem. He can't straighten his long neck. This creates trouble when it becomes Oswald's turn to guard the marsh. Unable to see over the tall grass, he is banished to a far corner of Shady Creek. There he meets a group of friendly little birds, the timderdoodles, who recognize Oswald's special talent: forecasting the weather. Only after Oswald's timely warning about a tornado do the other herons finally accept Oswald for who he is.


Sid and Sal's Famous Channel Marker Diner

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Tidewater Publishing, 1991

ISBN: 978-0-87033-423-8

Ages 5 and up

For years Sid and Sal, two typical ospreys, nested on top of a dead pine tree at the edge of a peaceful cove. When their tree was knocked down to make way for the Cozy Cove Condos, Sid and Sal were fortunate to find a new home on a channel marker at the mouth of Shady Creek. The channel marker was so spacious, in fact, that they decided to open a restaurant there, too. They called it 'The Channel Marker Diner.'


Novels

The Journey Back

By Priscilla Cummings

Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2012

Hardback ISBN: 978-0-525-42362-1

Ages 10 and up

Escaped and on the run, can Digger find redemption? His bold escape from a juvenile detention facility nearly kills him, but soon an angry fourteen-year-old Digger is on the run. When injuries stop his flight, Digger hides at a riverside campground, where he befriends little Luke and pretty Nora. New friends, a job caring for rescued horses, and risking his life to save another make Digger realize that the journey back is not just about getting home, it's about discovering what he's really running from, and how to come to terms with his troubled past. A companion book to Red Kayak.

"This high-action journey has suspense to spare, and the continual near misses will keep readers cheering for Digger."

- Booklist

  • Junior Library Guild Selection (2013)
  • Scholastic Book Club Selection

  • Blindsided

    By Priscilla Cummings

    Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2010

    Hardback ISBN: 978-0-525-42161-0

    Paperback ISBN: 978-0-14-241902-1

    Ages 10 and up

    When 14-year-old Natalie learns she will lose her sight she reluctantly enters a school for the blind. While she does as she's told, inwardly she hopes for the miracle that will save her sight. Ultimately, Natalie must decide how to go on when her future is not what she expected.

    "The young character's courage is unforgettable, and so are the heartbreaking details."

    - Booklist

    • IRA CBC Children's Choice (2010)
    • Nominee for the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award (2013)
    • Nominee for the Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (2013)
    • Scholastic Book Club Selection

    • What Mr. Mattero Did

      By Priscilla Cummings

      Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2005

      Hardback ISBN: 978-0-525-47621-4

      Paperback ISBN: 978-0-14-240856-8

      Ages 10 and up

      Three seventh grade girls accuse their music teacher, Mr. Mattero, of touching them inappropriately. The story is told from two points of view: one of the accusing girls and also Mr. Mattero's daughter, who happens to be an eighth grader in the samemiddle school.

      "Riveting and timely, this shocking slice-of-life drama is sure to keep pages turning."

      - Publishers Weekly

      • A Junior Library Guild selection (2005)

      • Red Kayak

        By Priscilla Cummings

        Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2004

        Hardback ISBN: 978-0-525-47317-6

        Paperback ISBN: 978-0-14-240573-4

        Ages 10 and up

        Living near the water on Maryland's Eastern Shore, thirteen-year-old Brady and his best friends, J.T. and Digger, become entangled in a tragedy that tests their friendship and their ideas about right and wrong.

        "Voices ring with authenticity, the situation is tense and the stakes high... This book is a gem."

        - VOYA

        • American Library Association (ALA) Best Books for Young Adults (2006)
        • A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age (2005)
        • An IRA-CBC Children's Choice (2005)
        • Wisconsin Battle of the Books (2005)
        • VOYA's Review Editor's Choice List (2005)
        • Washington Post Summer Reading Book Club (one of ten books) (2006)
        • Winner, Maryland Black Eyed Susan Award (2007)
        • Winner, Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (2007)

        • Saving Grace

          By Priscilla Cummings

          Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2003

          Paperback ISBN: 978-0-525-47123-3

          Ages 9 and up

          When Grace's family is evicted from their Washington D.C. apartment just before Christmas 1932 during The Great Depression, she and her younger siblings are placed in a mission. Grace's stay is cut short when she is invited to spend the holidays with the Hammonds, where they treat her like a daughter. What will happen when it's time for Grace to go home? Are family bonds more important than the security the Hammonds offer her? Inspired by a true story, Saving Grace is a testament to how love and loyalty triumphed during one of the bleakest periods in American history.

          "Cummings does an excellent job of showing how easy it is to do wrong when the normal world operates so inequitably. The choices Grace must make are not clear-cut..."

          - School Library Journal

          • A Junior Library Guild Selection (2003)
          • Nominee for the Mark Twain Award (2006)

          • A Face First

            By Priscilla Cummings

            Published by Dutton Children's Books, 2001

            Hardback ISBN: 978-0-525-46522-5

            Paperback ISBN: 978-0-14-230247-7

            Ages 10 and up

            After a catastrophic automobile accident, Kelley wakes up in the hospital to find that her face and body are severely burned. She feels isolated and alone as she agonizes through skin-graft operations, painful dressings and hand exercises that seem like torture. But with the help of her family and friends, a kind nurse, and understanding doctors and therapists, she is able to survive and even triumph. Then she finds out that she has to wear an ugly plastic face mask so that her facial skin won't grow back puffy and hard. How will Kelley ever face the world again?

            "Cummings... really shines in showing the careful balance of push, pull, and nurturing that must be maintained by the dedicated medical staff who choose to work with fire victims. She understands appearance-conscious adolescents, and leads readers to pull with Kelley in working through the layers of her inner being to reach beyond the mask."

            - Starred Review, School Library Journal

            • American Library Association (ALA) Notable (2002)
            • Parents' Guide to Children's Media Honor (2002)
            • New Mexico Battle of the Books (2005)
            • Excerpted in Weekly Reader (2004)

            • Autumn Journey

              By Priscilla Cummings

              Published by Tidewater Publishers, 2008

              Paperback ISBN: 978-0-87033-606-5

              Ages 9 and up

              When Will Newcomb's father loses his job, things start falling apart. The family's move to Grampa's farm in Pennsylvania is supposed to be a new beginning, but even there Will struggles with the change in his father... Autumn Journey is the story of several journeys, not just that of a Canada goose that Will has shot and nurses back to health. It is also the tale of a grandfather's love in the last days of his life, and of a family struggling to stay together in the face of hard times.

              "The prose shows the ease and confidence of an old pro, and gives off the power of someone who understands well the human heart..."

              - Kirkus Reviews

              • ABA Pick of the list for Fall (1997)
              • Maryland Black-Eyed Susan list (1999-2000)