Anton and Cecil

A swashbuckling story of two very different cat brothers and their adventures at sea. Anton and Cecil are as different as port and starboard. Cecil, stocky and black with white patches, thirsts for seafaring adventure. Slim, gray Anton prefers listening to the sailors' shanties at the town saloon. One day when Anton goes to the harbor, he's taken as a ratter on a ship bound for the high seas. Cecil boards another ship in hopes of finding Anton. What begins as a rescue mission turns into a pair of high-seas adventures. Anton takes on a fierce rat, outwits hungry birds, and forges a forbidden friendship, while Cecil meets dolphins and whales and finds himself in a pirate raid. On an ocean as vast as the one Anton and Cecil have discovered, will they ever see home--or each other--again? Includes a sneak peek at the next adventure in the series, Anton and Cecil: Cats on Track. When Anton is stolen off the dock, the next thing he knows, he's at sea. Knowing little of the wide open ocean, brave Cecil boards another ship to find his brother. But what begins as a rescue mission turns into a pair of high seas adventures, with thrills and danger bubbling under every wave. Orange Prize-winner Valerie Martin is the author of eight acclaimed adult novels, including Property and The Confessions of Edward Day. She lives in Millbrook, New York. Valerie Martin's niece, Lisa Martin, has worked as an educator and children's poet and currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Orange Prize-winner Valerie Martin is the author of eight acclaimed adult novels, including Property and The Confessions of Edward Day. She lives in Millbrook, New York. Valerie Martin's niece, Lisa Martin, has worked as an educator and children's poet and currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.  "Remarkable for its delicate use of language and for its watertight descriptions of seafaring . . . The story is engrossing and unpredictable with likeable heroes and charming accomplices . . . It's a measure of the Martins' success with this surprising debut that the cats' triumph feels so credible and, to the formerly sparring brothers, profound." -The New York Times Book Review "The plot is carefully woven, the vocabulary rich and distinctive, and the characters engaging." -Kirkus Reviews "The story is well paced with descriptive language that firmly places readers in the midst of dangerous storms, sea battles, and islands full of strange animals . . . Children who like animal fantasies such as Avi's Poppy will find much to enjoy here." -School Library Journal "Adult author Valerie Martin (Property), writing with her niece Lisa, make their children's book debut with a quaint mix of adventure and legend . . . The story is rich with seafaring vocabulary and nautical adventure." -Publishers Weekly

Terrible news has reached cat brothers Anton and Cecil: their rodent friend Hieronymus has been captured. Anton and Cecil must set out to rescue the mouse who once saved Anton's life. Boarding one of the monstrous machines the mice call "landships," the brothers travel to the Wild West. Along the way Cecil is tossed out onto the prairie by the train's conductor only to face bison, prairie dogs, and a boy who would make him a pet. Meanwhile, Anton meets a ferret friend who warns of stampeding herds, rattlesnakes, and fierce, enormous cats. Facing such danger can Anton and Cecil find the courage and wit to save Hieronymus?   The adventurous cats who sailed the open seas in Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea head west by train to rescue a missing mouse friend. With few clues, the two depend on the help of prairie dogs, bison, ferrets, and a wise lynx to solve the mystery of Hieronymus's whereabouts. Orange Prize-winner Valerie Martin is the author of eight acclaimed adult novels, including Property and The Confessions of Edward Day. She lives in Millbrook, New York. Her niece, Lisa Martin, has worked as an educator and children's poet and currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Chapter 1 The Mouse Network A stiff breeze whooshed across the harbor at Lunenburg, setting the tall ships rocking against their moorings. Anton sat in the noonday sun next to the lighthouse, carefully cleaning his smooth gray fur. His brother Cecil sprawled next to him on the warm bricks, the white tuft on the end of his otherwise black tail flicking with amusement. "I'm just saying, it's odd," Cecil insisted. "I've never seen a lizard anywhere near as big as you've described. Are you sure it wasn't a dog you met on that island? A small cow, maybe?" Anton glared briefly at Cecil and returned to his cleaning. "Its name was Dave, and he told me he was a lizard. So yes, I'm sure." "Huh," Cecil said. "Where I come from, lizards are for eating." "Everything's for eating where you come from," Anton said. A dull white gull sailed up the path, looking down upon the two cats with tiny, red-rimmed eyes. "Ahoy, cats!" squawked the gull. "Is one of you called Seasick, and one Tantrum?" "No," called Anton uncertainly, staring up at the bird. "He's Cecil, and I'm Anton." "Close enough," said the gull, listing in the breeze. "Two mice back there, wanting to have a word with you. Say they have a message from a friend of some kind." Cecil sat fully upright. "Mice? Two mice want to talk to us?" He grinned, showing his teeth. Anton lifted his head, scanning the path. "I doubt it. You can't trust gulls, brother. Don't you know that yet?" The gull rolled his eyes. "Cats," he muttered. "Suit yourselves," he called, then flew back down the path and banked again, screeching once at a blueberry shrub on the hillside before diving swiftly away over the harbor. Two scraggly mice, one brown and one gray, emerged from under the shrub and made their way toward the lighthouse, dashing between rocks and tufts of grasses in little bursts. Anton glanced at Cecil. "Now, behave, all right? Let's hear them out." Cecil settled his girth next to Anton and licked his lips. "I always behave." The mice stopped a short distance away and huddled together, their whiskers quivering. The brown mouse nudged the gray one, who sat up on his hindquarters and addressed the cats. "We bring a message to the felines Weasel and Ant Farm from the great adventurer Hieronymus," squeaked the gray mouse. Anton gasped. He had heard nothing of his brave mouse friend's whereabouts for many months. "Our names are Cecil and Anton," growled Cecil. He turned to his brother. Anton shushed Cecil. "We are those cats," he said to the mice. "Go on." Th

Tuckered out from a journey across the Wild West, cat brothers Anton and Cecil are ready to head east for home--until a minor stop to change trains in Chicago turns into a major adventure. A bloodhound detective recruits the brothers to help solve a case: puppies are disappearing right off their leashes! Anton and Cecil's search takes them deep into the heart of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where they befriend exotic animals, ride the newly invented Ferris Wheel, and look for clues amid the crowds of fairgoers. Just as they close in on the culprit, Cecil is carried away in a giant flying balloon and Anton is left behind. Can the cat brothers find the puppies and each other in this big, busy city? Fans of classic animal adventures such as A Cricket in Times Square and Poppy will love Anton and Cecil's world, brimming with action and rich, true-to-life detail. In the thrilling final adventure of the critically acclaimed trilogy, cat brothers Anton and Cecil team up with a police dog to search for puppies stolen right off their leashes at the Chicago World's Fair.   Valerie Martin is the author of many acclaimed adult novels. She lives in Millbrook, New York.  Her niece, Lisa Martin, has worked as an educator and children's poet and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.   Cecil looked up, and his heart leaped. A balloon! He darted to the top of a crate. Clinging tightly with his claws, Cecil leaned out to take in a view more astounding than he had ever imagined. So this is what birds see, he thought. I'm actually flying! "Parents seeking a fright-free, friendly tale . . . look no further. Feline aficionados may love the cat characters." -Kirkus Reviews