The Legend of the Cape May Diamond (Myths, Legends, Fairy and Folktales)

Shortlisted for the Delaware Diamonds Booklist—A Children’s Choice and the Keystone to Reading Book Award List

At the southernmost tip of New Jersey lie the resort town of Cape May and its sparkling sandy beaches, sheltering the Delaware Bay. Formed by melting glaciers thousands of years past, the Delaware River flows from its headwaters to spill into the Delaware Bay. And for thousands of years, fragments of quartz rock have ridden the river, plucked from the mountains lining its banks. Polished and buffed as they tumble along, these rock particles dazzle like gemstones when tossed onto Cape May's sandy shores. Beloved by beachcombers, these "diamonds" are the daughters of the river, linking the state's past and present.

Delving into the natural beauty of New Jersey's famous coastline, storyteller Trinka Hakes Noble has crafted a wondrous tale explaining the origin of the Cape May Diamond.

Trinka Hakes Noble's award-winning picture books include The Last Brother, The Scarlet Stockings Spy (an IRATeachers' Choice, 2005), and the popular Jimmy's Boa series. Her awards include ALANotable Children's Book, IRA-CBC Children's Choice, and several Junior Literary Guild Selections. E.B. Lewis is the acclaimed illustrator of numerous award-winning picture books, including the 2005 Caldecott Honor Book, Coming On Home Soon.

Trinka Hakes Noble is the award-winning author of numerous picture books including The Orange Shoes (2007 National Parenting Publications Awards Honors Winner), The Scarlet Stockings Spy (2005 IRA Teachers' Choice), The Last Brother, and The Legend of the Cape May Diamond. Ms. Noble also wrote the ever-popular Jimmy's Boa series and Meanwhile Back at the Ranch, both featured on PBS's Reading Rainbow. Her many awards include ALA Notable Children's Book, Booklist Children's Editors' Choice, IRA-CBC Children's Choice, Learning: The Year's Ten Best, and several Junior Literary Guild Selections.

Ms. Noble has studied children's book writing and illustrating in New York City at Parsons School of Design, the New School University, Caldecott medalist Uri Shulevitz's Greenwich Village Workshop, and at New York University. A member of the Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature, she was awarded Outstanding Woman 2002 in Arts and Letters in the state of New Jersey for her lifetime work in children's books. Ms. Noble currently lives in the historic Jockey Hollow area of Bernardsville, New Jersey.

E.B. Lewis is the acclaimed illustrator of many award-winning picture books including the 2005 Caldecott Honor Book, Coming on Home Soon. His books Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Elizabeth Coleman, Bat Boy and his Violin, and My Rows and Piles of Coins each won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor award.