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The Cay Audiobook
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(3.00) - 13,290 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
For fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins comes Theodore Taylor’s classic bestseller and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, The Cay. 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. “Mr. Taylor has provided an exciting story…The idea that all humanity would benefit from this special form of color blindness permeates the whole book…The result is a story with a high ethical purpose but no sermon.”—New York Times Book Review “A taut tightly compressed story of endurance and revelation…At once barbed and tender, tense and fragile—as Timothy would say, ‘outrageous good.’”—Kirkus Reviews * “Fully realized setting…artful, unobtrusive use of dialect…the representation of a hauntingly deep love, the poignancy of which is rarely achieved in children’s literature.”—School Library Journal, Starred “Starkly dramatic, believable and compelling.”—Saturday Review “A tense and moving experience in reading.”—Publishers Weekly “Eloquently underscores the intrinsic brotherhood of man.”—Booklist "This is one of the best survival stories since Robinson Crusoe."—The Washington Star · A New York Times Best Book of the Year · A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year · A Horn Book Honor Book · An American Library Association Notable Book · A Publishers Weekly Children’s Book to Remember · A Child Study Association’s Pick of Children’s Books of the Year · Jane Addams Book Award · Lewis Carroll Shelf Award · Commonwealth Club of California: Literature Award · Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award · Woodward School Annual Book Award · Friends of the Library Award, University of California at Irvine
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"This book is a beautiful story of survival and friendship. It is the story of a young, white boy named Philip who is thrust into the care of an old, black man named Timothy. Philip has to deal with many physical, emotional, and social challenges and grows to be a better human being because of them. I have read this book aloud many times to my fourth graders over the years, and the reaction is always the same. They are awestruck, and I am crying! This is a tender story that will bring you to tears with its beautiful messages about true love and caring and learning to live life color-blind. This one is not to be missed!"
— Debbie (5 out of 5 stars)
The Cay Listener Reviews
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" It was a very good book.it was kinda depressing but I like sad books.it was slow in the beginning but then it sped up a lot. "
— Alyssa williams, 6/5/2018 -
" It's ok...but it's kidda a wierd story and NOT very exciting. It's pretty boring and i wouldn't recommended it! "
— Emilie, 2/20/2014 -
" i really didnt uderstand it when i was 11 "
— Anthony, 2/18/2014 -
" this was a very good book. It's a little slow to get to the exciting part but it does get there and i loved it! "
— Kyla, 2/18/2014 -
" this book is about a boy and he is living with his family when a war starts to come, some of the poeple that were getting attaked that live in the city got on a boat and whent to a safer place. he whent and left his family behind. there he met a guy (i forgot his name) but the boy would always be mean and call him a stupid black man. all i can say is that they got stuck on an island together, i cant tell you how, or why. and the ending is veery shocking. its a veryy good book and i think everyone should read it if they could. "
— Addy, 2/15/2014 -
" Whole family enthralled by this inspiring story. Enjoyable for all ages. "
— Brad, 2/6/2014 -
" I loved this book! I read it in class and couldn't wait to read the sequal! "Timothy of the Cay" "
— Morgan, 1/25/2014 -
" I loved it! I thought it would be boring at the start but as i continued reading it was actually really good. "
— Lauren-dee, 1/22/2014 -
" i love this book. i had to read it for school and lots of te other kids did not like it. Oh well i guess its your taste in books. "
— Audrey, 1/16/2014 -
" I had to read this book in my 8th grade English class. Even though it's not my typical type of book, I really enjoyed it. From what I remember, not a whole lot happened, but something about the story was just good. "
— Megan, 1/13/2014 -
" Excellent messages throughout this book. "
— Jazzw, 1/13/2014 -
" we had to read this for school, and i have to admit, i really liked it! "
— Rebecca, 1/9/2014 -
" Great moral. Taught me to love my loved ones always cause you dont know when you'll lose them. "
— GraceN, 1/3/2014 -
" This was one of the first books that really made me love reading . "
— Leslie, 12/29/2013 -
" This book was an easy read and kept my interest. It seems pretty shallow and not believable, but it does address the benefit of getting over incorrect assumptions. "
— Judy, 12/27/2013 -
" I thought that this book was good for the most part. Through some of it I got bored but it came out with a great ending...and that really made me enjoy this book. "
— Jes, 12/11/2013 -
" Great book about a life changing event for a young boy during WWII in the Caribbean. Although the book is short, its story is complex and timeless. Good for middle school kids wanting something a bit more meaningful than vampires and underpants. "
— Sheila, 11/25/2013 -
" This book made me cry every time we read it in class. "
— Mary, 11/17/2013 -
" Good Young Adult historical about boy surviving a storm during wartime. "
— Keith, 11/4/2013 -
" An excellent book. Well written, gripping, and heart-wrenching. I cried and cried and cried. "
— Anne, 10/30/2013 -
" Read back in grade school, can't remember which grade. I do remember it had a great impact of me and was a very emotional book that left me thinking about it. "
— Chelsey, 10/24/2013 -
" I read this book to my kids and they really liked the book. There were some concepts that I needed to explain to them but it didn't interfere with their enjoyment. The relationship between Timothy and Phillip was heart-warming and the kids loved my rendition of Timothy's accent. "
— Christa, 10/14/2013 -
" This addition is slightly different from the one I read when I was young. Still a good book for boys, adolesent to early teens... "
— Keith, 8/27/2013 -
" WHOAH!!!!!! What can I say? Basically.....................THIS BOOK ROCKS THE HIZ-HOUSE!!!!!!! "
— Monkey, 10/30/2012 -
" The book the cay doesn't really captivate your attention at all. It doesn't captivate your attention ,because it doesn't get to the point. "
— Caylin, 5/18/2012 -
" I personally DO NOT like this book. It got very confusing. But trust me it was easy to read and is a good book if you want to read somthing short and sweet but not the most entertaining book under the sun! "
— Liberty, 2/4/2012 -
" One of the great children's books. "
— Etta, 1/29/2012 -
" best book ever! "
— 1234, 12/14/2011 -
" Wouldn't recommend it, wish I hadn't bothered reading it. But I had to for school. It bored me, and it was sort of depressing. "
— Kelly, 10/8/2011 -
" It was a good book, it reminds me of the movie cast away wit tom hanks "
— Dustin, 8/10/2011 -
" Good entertaining meaningful book, quick easy good read. "
— Steven, 5/22/2011 -
" It's alright...I'm still reading it in class, and mostly enjoying it! "
— Christina, 5/18/2011 -
" This book is so cool, but they are some sad things about the story. This book is so interesting so far. "
— Beatriz, 5/13/2011 -
" In 7th grade I was confused, board, and was made to over-analyze(if there is such a thing) this book. No fond memories. "
— Marion, 5/9/2011 -
" Phillip gave us an intresting, sad ,and funny story. "
— Emma, 5/7/2011 -
" I think this book is for people who like suspense and adventure. I liked the plot , but I think the main character was a brat. "
— Junie, 5/2/2011 -
" I remember when I had to read this book for school. At first I wasn't so keen on the idea of reading yet another book about shipwrecks. Yet this one was able to catch my interest with the more I read it. I liked it but I didn't really love it. Still I'd surely recommend it to people. "
— Atarah, 4/30/2011 -
" Great story of of an ignorant young boy becoming blinded to race and learning to love. I thought this was powerful. "
— Laura, 4/28/2011 -
" ......touching and warm-hearted story......love it! "
— Therese, 4/27/2011 -
" timothy is funny ( kind of ) <br/>and the book is okay :zzz "
— Liannec, 4/24/2011 -
" This is a simple story that is only about 150 pages. It has a good message, but it reads more like a short story than a novel. Not much more to say, other than...I liked it. "
— Lori, 4/22/2011 -
" i think the cay was a good book "
— Shaher, 4/22/2011
About Theodore Taylor
Theodore Taylor (1921-2006) was born in North Carolina and authored more than fifty books for children and adults. His novel The Weirdo won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery in 1992. He is best known for The Cay, which is considered a classic of young adult literature and is required reading in many schools across the US and internationally. The Cay won eleven literary awards, including the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was made into a television movie starring James Earl Jones in 1974.
About Michael Boatman
Michael Boatman is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and twice winner of the prestigious Audie Award for narration. He is a versatile television, film, and stage actor whose work on the hit TV show Spin City garnered him a GLAAD Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and nominations for two NAACP Image Awards. For his work playing Stanley Babson on the long-running HBO series ARLI$$, he was nominated five times for the Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.