A collection of first-person stories and essays about living on Pine Island, a barrier island off the West Coast of Florida. The author and his wife have lived on Pine Island for 18 years and have met just about every kind of animal, insect, amphibian, reptile and person that inhabits small, sub-tropical mangrove islands in this part of Florida. Often humorous, the stories share the lives of creatures often unseen by other people. Also shared are weather patterns, including a category 5 hurricane, and the many "transplants", non-native species that have made Florida their permanent home.

Gerald Hausman has written many novels for YA and also for adult readers. Some of these have been translated into more than ten foreign languages. His bestselling historical novel is Escape From Botany Bay, which he co-wrote with his wife, Loretta, with whom he also collaborated on a number of picture books for young readers. Gerald's novel Duppy Talk about his years with Loretta in Jamaica was filmed by the History Channel. Duppy Talk also received The Aesop Accolade Award from The American Folklore Society. His mystery novel The Evil Chasing Way is a UFO thriller praised by Anne Hillerman and others. www.geraldhausman.com