Travel beneath the Chesapeake Bay, where Spud, a feisty young blue crab, hates to nap. Waking his underwater friends, Spud launches a rollicking Christmas Eve party that is interrupted by an unexpected traveler in need of Spud's help. Can Spud help bring Christmas to the Bay?

Chadwick the Crab and Bernie the Sea Gull are worried that they're going to lose a good friend forever. Hester, a Delmarva fox squirrel, has discovered a book telling her she is on the endangered species list. Not only that, a mysterious monster is lurking around Shady Creek. All this happens just when Chadwick and Esmerelda are getting ready to welcome their family home.

Priscilla Cummings's Chadwick the Crab series has been a staple of Chesapeake juvenile literature for more than a decade. Now Ms. Cummings turns her hand to another classic genre, the ABC book, this one with a Chesapeake regional flavor. From "A is for anchor" to "Z is for a zephyr," the sights, sounds, and feel of the Bay come through to the youngest of readers. This is a perfect way to introduce toddlers and preschoolers to the wonders of the alphabet and instill in them a love of the Chesapeake. (Also review its companion book, Chesapeake 1-2-3.) Whimsical drawings by David Aiken illustrate the verses about Chesapeake animals and things. Preschool to grade 2.

When Will Newcomb's father loses his job at the Port of Baltimore things at home start falling apart. The family moves to Grampa's farm in Pennsylvania for a new beginning, but his father's depression is taking a toll on the family-especially Will. When Grampa suggests a hunting trip early one morning, Will is eager to go along, especially since he believes it might help him win back his father's attention. Only later, while hiding beneath the bushes and waiting for the birds to see the decoys, does Will realize how torn inside he is about actually killing a beautiful Canada goose. This is one hunting trip that does not end the way anyone hopes or expects. Autumn Journey is the story of several journeys, not just that of a Canada goose or a young boy. It is the tale of love keeping a struggling family together in the face of hard times. Middle grades-ages 10-13.

Beneath the back steps, by a rock in the shade, Beetle Boddiker lives in the house that he made. A jumble of sticks and a tumble of leaves, It's a simple bug house. But don't step on it, please! Beetle Boddiker is a tiny beetle who rarely leaves home. But one day he needs to be brave and venture forth across the great jungle of a lawn and the ocean of rocks in the driveway to visit his brother, Nevins, who lives in a rusty tin can across the street. Join Beetle Boddiker on an adventure that is not to be missed. Early reader-ages 5-8.

Toulouse, the wise old Canada goose from the Chadwick series, stars in his own adventure in this picture book. As a youngster Toulouse wasn't quite so wise, as he freely admits when he tells his nieces and nephews his story one crisp October day. Toulouse had gotten into mischief early-when he was just a newly hatched little yellow gosling-but nothing compared with the trouble he found on his first migration to Maryland. Separated from his family, he was left to find his own way south with a lost snow goose named Desdemona, who became his special friend for life. Their love story is one children and grownups alike will treasure.

Land and sea creatures of the Chesapeake Bay come to life and go to sleep in this delightful poem. Every animal sleeps in a different way. Herons, crabs, clams, turtles and fish each go to sleep in a different place in the water. So, too, do ducks, butterflies, birds, beavers, and even oysters sleep in their own "beds." Once heard, this charming story will be asked for every night. Beddy bye! Ages 6 and under.

As developers and rich families move into the Chesapeake Bay area, Brady befriends some of them, while his parents and friends are bitter about the changes. When tragedy strikes, Brady discovers the truth behind the "accident," which will change the lives of those he loves forever.

Chadwick the Crab and his friends-Bernie the Seagull, Hector Spector Jellyfish, Baron von Heron, Toulouse the Canada Goose, and Matilda Egret, to name a few-live in the Chesapeake Bay and share many adventures. Snuggle up with your youngest "readers" and introduce them to the Bay's most endearing crab and his buddies with fun rhymes and flaps that lift to reveal who's who. This delightful board book will increase language and identification skills, along with developing small motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Chadwick the Crab is getting married, and everyone is preparing for the big event! Esmerelda is choosing her bridesmaids. Baron von Heron is writing the ceremony (in rhyme, of course). Toulouse, the gourmet goose, is baking the cake. Chadwick has convinced some friends at the Baltimore aquarium to come.

Then Chadwick begins to question whether he is really ready for marriage. While he's having second thoughts, everything goes haywire: Bernie the Sea Gull can't find a tuxedo that fits. Toulouse's arrival from Canada is delayed by strong head winds, and, as if all that weren't bad enough, Esmerelda disappears! Suddenly, the wedding is off and the search is on. Only then does Chadwick realize how much he loves the prettiest girl crab in all of Shady Creek.

In Chesapeake 1-2-3, companion book to Chesapeake ABC, the bay comes alive for preschoolers and toddlers learning to count. Pages and scenes grow more crowded as readers approach "ten," then see all the numbers once again. One girl went out to fish; two ospreys fly up high; three sails are on each boat; learn to count--the Chesapeake Way! This book will delight youngsters with its clever rhymes and whimsical drawings. Picture book-ages 0-6.

Chesapeake Rainbow will help youngsters learn their colors the Chesapeake way. The book is a bright and wonderful companion to the popular Chesapeake ABC and Chesapeake 1-2-3. How many colors has the Chesapeake Bay? More than a rainbow you could say. Blue is the color of the water in the Bay, And blue is the color of a perfect day. The heron that we call Great Blue is blue. The stripe down a crab's leg? It's blue, too. Blue is a color of the Chesapeake Bay. Let's think of another that we see everyday. Picture book-ages 0-6.

Chadwick, a Chesapeake Bay crab, yearns for adventure and finds it in a most dangerous form, prompting the birds and marine animals who share the Bay to come to his rescue on the mainland.

Chadwick the Crab returns to teach young readers more fun facts about life at the Chesapeake Bay. This traveling companion offers hours of entertainment with puzzles, coloring pages, mazes, and interesting facts. Kids are encouraged to integrate their fine motor skills with activities that will challenge their bayside knowledge bank. Fun facts are revealed through the activities, which invite exploration and some fact digging. Readers will learn, play, and sharpen their motor skills while the adventurous crab succeeds in teaching yet another lesson. More than 50 stickers are included!

A Chadwick Treasury begins with the original story of Chadwick the Crab, a little crab in the Chesapeake Bay who has big dreams of becoming a star at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The adventures continue when Chadwick teams up with friends Bernie the Sea Gull, Toulouse the Canada Goose, and Baron Von Heron, among others, to tackle the problem of pollution in Chadwick and the Garplegrungen. Romance blossoms next. Chadwick asks his special friend, Esmerelda, to marry him. Chadwick's Wedding is a joyous event in Shady Creek. Finally, in Chadwick Forever, our beloved crabs celebrate the arrival of their new family just when other bay friends find themselves on the endangered species list. Chadwick hopes readers will enjoy the stories and will also be inspired to help keep the Chesapeake Bay a safe place to live.

Preschoolers and early readers will enjoy the rhyming story and colorful pictures in this introduction to Chadwick the Chesapeake Bay blue crab and his many friends: Bernie the Sea Gull, Toulouse the Canada Goose, Matilda Egret, Hector Spector the Jellyfish, Orville Oyster, and others. As the story says: Though Chadwick and his many friends/Are different as can be,/They live together happily/In a bay, beside the sea.