FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stretching from Oregon south to the Baja peninsula, the California coast has been the birthplace of extraordinary stories, some based on historic events, others created by immigrants or aboriginal tribes to explain the world around them. This book brings the region alive through historical and contemporary stories, poems, and memoirs, many contributed by writers representing the ethnic groups that have made this region home.

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA - Hilary Theyer

Part of the Stories from Where We Live series that "celebrates a North American ecoregion through its own distinctive literature," this entry explores the coast of California through essays, stories, poetry, and memoir. Various sections range from Adventures to Great Places and Wild Lives and include a poem about the San Francisco fog, a brief history on the Catalina Pigeon Express that carried messages before radio, a rhyme translated from Cantonese about Golden Gate Park, and an essay about sea otters. The writing is interesting, including the true story of the lone woman of San Nicholas Island, which provided the basis for Scott O'Dell's Island of the Blue Dolphins (Houghton Mifflin, 1961), and firsthand accounts of California's exploration. Each selection details a specific area of the California coast, and they are indexed by region in the back. Other appendixes include a list of coastal preserves, habitats, and common plants and animals to the region. This book is essential for California libraries and offers an appealing look for state reports. It would also provide the basis for a good booktalk with other volumes on the history or ecology of the California coast. Illus. Maps. Further Reading. Appendix. VOYA CODES: S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2001, Milkweed Editions, 236p,