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Revival of a Coastal Classic:
A Day With Don Returns to Cape Lookout

A man walked into Beaufort's Rocking Chair Bookstore last year looking for a rare local book. "Do you have A Day with Don at Cape Lookout?" he asked. "It was my favorite book as a boy growing up here."

An on-line search of 20 million books at 100,000 booksellers around the world turned up one used copy at Ashley Cooper Books in Charleston, in decent condition, with the prior owner's name inked out.

With shipping it came to about $30, not bad for a book out of print since the 1960s. It arrived as more of a booklet by modern standards, thin, faded, staple-bound, and looking like something done on the kitchen table on a rainy weekend.

But the captivating story-about a boy who takes a sea cruise to a barrier island with his mom and dad to discover the beach wilderness-was irresistible, and the illustrations portrayed the natural beauty of Cape Lookout's sandy shores and the creatures who live there.

The author was one Sarah B. Dudley, who turned out to be none other than Beaufort's own Bitsy Dudley. The former Carteret County public school teacher said that yes, she wrote and illustrated the book with her friend Doris King, 40 years ago, for her son, Don Dudley Jr., then 6, a memoir of his childhood in the southern Outer Banks.

And, yes, she and her husband, Don, a retired marine biologist, were interested in reviving this coastal Carolina classic. She set about a magical transformation with help from Fish Towne Press of Beaufort, which earlier published Deborah Van Dyken's best-selling children's' book, The Little Turkle, and Beaufort-By-The-Sea: Journey Back in Time.

First, a copy was digitally scanned on fine art paper. Then Mrs.Dudley picked up brush and paint set for the first time in several decades to restore and enhance sun-faded watercolors. A new hard cover, a complete new design, editing and the addition of a new chapter featuring a surprise ending, and voila! The manuscript was E-mailed half way around the world to Daehan Printers in Seoul, Korea.

A Day With Don at Cape Lookout Seashore came back to life as an all-new, full-color, hardbound, keepsake collectible for a new generation.

Once used in local schools to help teach youngsters how to explore nature in their own surroundings, this delightful, informative book is again a treasure for children, parents and teachers.

A true-life adventure tale, the book captures in words and watercolors all the fun of a family outing on a deserted island. The author celebrates the wonders of nature, reveals the joy of childhood discovery and includes a Q&A quiz, to test learning skills of young readers. One page lists genus and species to pique curiosity.

Not just another pretty children's' book, A Day With Don At Cape Lookout Seashore is an ideal guide for everyone, young and old, who embarks on a sea journey to Cape Lookout National Seashore this (or any other) summer. -Rick Carroll

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