This award-winning novel remains a powerful classic of prejudice, love, and survival. In 1942, 11-year-old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaçao, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat. They eventually land on a deserted island. Phillip is suspicious of "the large Negro," but soon grows to trust--and ultimately love--the patient and generous Timothy. Dedicated to "Dr. King's Dream," The Cay has a clear message that friendship is colorblind; it is also a terrific adventure story of a young, newly blinded man learning to survive on an uninhabited island. (Ages 12 and older) --Richard Farr

From AudioFile
In April, 1942, following the torpedo blast that sinks his Virginia-bound ship, eleven-year-old Phillip Enright is left blinded and stranded on a saltwater cay with an initially fearsome West Indian native, Timothy. Burton reads the part of Timothy masterfully, fully capturing the melodic West Indian cadences and successfully contrasting them with his reading of Phillip. Additional sound is used to good effect, particularly during the hurricane that sweeps the cay. Less successful are the introductory chapters. Despite these initial problems, collections that serve intermediate and middle school students will want to purchase the audio version of this modern survival classic. T.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

ANNOTATION

When the freighter on which they are traveling is torpedoed by a German submarine during World War II, an adolescent white boy, blinded by a blow on the head, and an old black man are stranded on a tiny Caribbean island where the boy acquires a new kind of vision, courage, and love from his old companion.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed.

When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his mother’s warning about black people: “They are different, and they live differently.”

But by the time the castaways arrive on a small island, Phillip’s head injury has made him blind and dependent on Timothy.

FROM THE CRITICS

Saturday Review

A totally absorbing story...starkly dramamtic, believable and compelling.

Children's Literature - Beth Shotwell-Valeo

Taylor's first novel for young readers, The Cay, is the story of a boy's life-threatening adventure at sea in 1942 after his freighter, the Hato, is torpedoed by a German submarine. In his quest for survival, the boy must overcome his racial and cultural prejudices, as well as a serious physical disability in this Robinson Crusoe setting. More than twenty years passed before Taylor produced the prequel-sequel, Timothy of the Cay. The two stories make for compelling reading, and the events, characters and setting are still very much of relevance today. After reading the first, the second expands on the adventure. There is also a study guide for teachers and homeschoolers and a workbook edition. 1987 (orig.

AudioFile - Toni Buzzeo