Irene M Paine

The Magic of the Clam Flats Irene M Paine

A Cape Cod tall tale of heartwarming surprises!




This story begins with hard times during the Great Depression in the seaside town of Wellfleet. It's a tough day when eight-year-old Nate's father fails to return to Wellfleet Harbor after a stormy fishing trip. Nate's worried mom asks Nate to take on the task of gathering enough clams to feed the family. Nate finds a helpful friend in a garrulous fiddler crab named Pokey, and amazing things happen. Not only does Nate learn to work hard, he builds a tower of clams that reaches high above the town. The urge to climb the tower culminates in Nate being able to see not only the tip of Cape Cod, but all the way across Cape Cod Bay to Boston, where he spies his father repairing his vessel at the Boston docks. The hard work and the good news have caused Nate to mature and grow, literally, into a young man. After climbing down and making sure the clam pile sinks back into the sand flats to be there for another day and saying good-bye to his new friend Pokey, Nate brings a full clam basket home for his happy mother to make dinner with as they wait for Dad's return. All ends well for Nate and his family. Suitable for youngsters from four years old to one hundred and four. Beautifully illustrated for the bedtime story crowd by Cape Cod artist Anne Rosen. 78 pages, 38 full page color illustrations.