Timothy of the Cay: Amazon.ca: Theodore Taylor: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

" 'Tis a beautiful cay, dis cay,' Timothy had said. He was right." So says Phillip Enright after his first actual view of the islet on which, in The Cay , he was stranded with the old black sailor Timothy, who taught him to survive. Phillip's return to the isolated spot marks the culmination of a journey both physical and spiritual. In alternating chapters Taylor recounts the events following the blinded 12-year-old's rescue from the remote island, and chronicles Timothy's history as well. In the tradition of its predecessor, this "prequel/sequel" explores social and racial imbalances and draws a graceful parallel between Timothy's youthful struggle to achieve an unheard-of dream--the captaincy of his own boat--and Philip's courage in choosing to undergo a risky operation to restore his vision. At times, the author seems to apologize for Timothy's illiteracy, his stubbornness and his belief in the spirits called jumbis , which seems unnecessary, given the character's obvious dignity and deep-rooted wisdom. Somewhat more thoughtful than its well-loved antecedent, this boldly drawn novel is no less commanding. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Twenty-four years after publication of The Cay (Doubleday, 1987, 1969), Taylor returns to his story of a young white boy stranded on a Caribbean island with an elderly, resourceful black man. The narrative alternates between Phillip's first-person accounts of what happened to him after his rescue, and flashbacks in the third person telling Timothy's story, starting with his childhood in St. Thomas. In The Cay, readers learned how Phillip came to be on the torpedoed ship Hato; this prequel/sequel adds depth to Timothy's character through its treatment of episodes that led up to that event. The boy's story is less revealing than the man's, and some of it has already been told and is slightly contradicted by dates in the final chapter of The Cay. Faithful in tone, dialect, and characterization to the earlier title, Timothy does not delve as deeply into the theme of the first book. Instead, while it touches on racial prejudice, its focus is more on Phillip's appreciation of his friend and guardian angel, and on the adventurous and touching yarns of the West Indian man's life at sea. Those who enjoyed the earlier book will feel as though they're meeting up with old acquaintances and learning more about them, and will see the story come full circle when Phillip returns-with his sight-to the island.
Susan Knorr, Milwaukee Public Library, WI
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence
The destroyer sped on toward Panama. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Cameron from Richveiw middle school., Mar 10 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Timothy of the Cay (Paperback)

This book in my opinion is the best book I have ever read. It is about a boy that lives on a island with his mom and dad. But when a war breaks out the family decides to ship there son to a safer place. When the ship he is on gets topedoed he has to bell off. When he wakes up he is on a raft with a man named timothy and a cat called stew cat. These three have lots of adventures together. Until Timothy gets very sick and ill, he starts teaching phillhp what he needs to survive. When timothy dies phillip has to fend for himself. He has a hard time doing it cause you see phillip is blind and he cant see. What would it be like to be out in the middle of an ocean on an island by your self. It would be scary If you like action/adventure stories this book is for you.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Timothy of the Cay, Oct 7 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Timothy of the Cay (Hardcover)

The book Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor was an amazing and exiting book. The book is about a blind boy named Phillip that had been stranded on a small cay with a black man named Timothy. Months later Phillip is rescued, but Timothy is not able to come along. Phillip goes on home then is sent to New York were he tries to regain his vision. While Phillip fights to get his vision back Timothy's life story is told.
Timothy and Phillip met each other when they floated to shore together after there boat was hit by a torpedo. This was Phillip's only time seeing Timothy because soon after Phillip lost his vision. Later Phillip and Timothy reached land. Timothy taught Phillip how to live on his own even though he was blind. When the rescue team came to save Phillip, Timothy did not come along because he had been killed in a hurricane a couple weeks before. When Phillip finally returned home he felt very depressed because he couldn't see. Phillips parents decided to try and get his vision back so they took him to the best doctor in New York. While Phillip worked with the doctor in New York, the Author was telling Timothy's life story before he had met Phillip.
My opinion on Timothy of the Cay was it was an amazing and exciting book. I thought the book was amazing because Phillip was able to live on the cay by him self without vision, and it was amazing what the Doctor did to try and restore his vision. When I read how Phillip had survived without food, water, or his vision on a cay I couldn't believe it. Phillip fished on his own and got water by himself, I thought that was truly amazing. I thought it was exciting how the Doctor tried to restore his vision because it took a lot of courage buy Phillip and the Doctor, also it was very scary because Phillip could have died.
In conclusion Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor it was an amazing and exciting book. This book was amazing and exiting because of what he had to live through and the hardships he fought through. This book could be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Timothy of the Cay, Oct 6 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Timothy of the Cay (Hardcover)

The book Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor was an amazing and exiting book. The book is about a blind boy named Phillip that had been stranded on a small cay with a black man named Timothy. Months later Phillip is rescued, but Timothy is not able to come along. Phillip goes on home then is sent to New York were he tries to regain his vision. While Phillip fights to get his vision back Timothy's life story is told.
Timothy and Phillip met each other when they floated to shore together after there boat was hit by a torpedo. This was Phillip's only time seeing Timothy because soon after Phillip lost his vision. Later Phillip and Timothy reached land. Timothy taught Phillip how to live on his own even though he was blind. When the rescue team came to save Phillip, Timothy did not come along because he had been killed in a hurricane a couple weeks before. When Phillip finally returned home he felt very depressed because he couldn't see. Phillips parents decided to try and get his vision back so they took him to the best doctor in New York. While Phillip worked with the doctor in New York, the Author was telling Timothy's life story before he had met Phillip.
My opinion on Timothy of the Cay was it was an amazing and exciting book. I thought the book was amazing because Phillip was able to live on the cay by him self without vision, and it was amazing what the Doctor did to try and restore his vision. When I read how Phillip had survived without food, water, or his vision on a cay I couldn't believe it. Phillip fished on his own and got water by himself, I thought that was truly amazing. I thought it was exciting how the Doctor tried to restore his vision because it took a lot of courage buy Phillip and the Doctor, also it was very scary because Phillip could have died.
In conclusion Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor it was an amazing and exciting book. This book was amazing and exiting because of what he had to live through and the hardships he fought through. This book could be enjoyed by people of all ages.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Timothy of the Cay
This is a great book. When I first read it I didn't want to put the book down because I wanted to see what was going to happen. It had great discription on the characters. Read more

Published on Dec 3 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Timothy of the Cay T.O.T.C.
This book is about a man named Timothy and a boy named Phillp.It starts when Phillp boat is bomb by Nazies an hes stuke on the island with a blck man named Timothy and they'er... Read more

Published on Sep 18 2001