New Book is Doggone Good!
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Open water swimmer extraordinaire Lynne Cox swam the
English Channel twice before she was seventeen – setting speed records both
times! As much at home in the water as on land, Cox’s swimming feats are
legendary.
From swimming in the frigid waters of Antarctica and across the
Strait of Magellan to around the Cape of Good Hope and across Lake Baikal in
Siberia, Cox has amazed people. She even brought world superpowers America and
the Soviet Union together when she swam the Bering Strait connecting the two
countries on August 7, 1987.
As a motivational speaker and author, Cox continues to
uplift and inspire adults and children alike, as she does now with her new book
Tales of Al: The Water Rescue Dog. The story of another athlete,
this one a member of the famed Italian School of Water Rescue Dogs, features a
lovable – and seemingly untrainable – chocolate Newfoundland on her path to
becoming a heroic, lifesaving rescue dog.
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel have been admirers of Cox for a long time. She and Sunny both went to Los Alamitos High School in Orange County, CA. So, we weren’t surprised that Tales of Al, with its underdog super achiever, would have such a strong emotional impact and have us cheering.
Cox has written before about aquatic animals who win your heart, including these award-winning books:
Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas, illustrated by Caldecott Medal Winner Brian Floca, is a
School Library Journal Best Children's Book of the Year. Set in Christchurch,
New Zealand, it's the story of a whale seal named Elizabeth who likes to bask
in the sun – in the middle of the town's two-lane road – far from where she
should be in the open sea.
Based on a true story told to Cox by two children in the
town, Cox brings it to life for the rest of us, recounting Elizabeth's
incredible journey up the Avon River and her search for a place to call her
own.
Grayson is
the captivating bestseller of Cox's face-to-face encounter with a baby whale
off the California coast when Cox was a teenager. Separated from its mother,
the whale decides to follow Cox on her swim. But, if Cox can't find a way to
reunite the missing mother and child, the baby whale could die.
Two tiny specks in the huge ocean swimming together while anxious bystanders watch from shore, it becomes an endurance test for both. And a question of if the mother whale will find them in time.
Now, as we celebrate the last golden days of summer and the leisurely
time to dream, why not find a comfy spot to read and follow the incredible
journeys of Al, Elizabeth, and Grayson?
Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold
the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to
reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and
non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as
credit is given.