Elsa Marston
children's author
Reviews of this "boisterous seafaring yarn"...

"Marston invests her heroine with the comic aplomb of a beribboned Pippi Longstocking. ...the artwork enhances the wit of the preposterous voyage and depicts a suitably happy, oh-so-proper ending." (Publisher's Weekly)

"...children who imagine other times and places will enjoy stretching themselves to take in this burlesque adventure." (School Library Journal)

"Elsa Marston makes the absolute most of Cynthia's tale. Children will cheer as it is read to them, while adults grin at its stiff-upper-lip never-say-die humor." (Robert Hale)

Fiction, young adult
SANTA CLAUS IN BAGHDAD--AND OTHER STORIES ABOUT TEENS IN THE ARAB WORLD
Eight stories about teens in Arab societies
FIGS AND FATE: STORIES ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE ARAB WORLD TODAY
collection of short stories
Some further thoughts on FIGS AND FATE....
Notes about the stories
poetry
SONGS OF ANCIENT JOURNEYS: ANIMALS IN ROCK ART
poems inspired by animals depicted in Southwestern rock art
fiction, young-adult
THE UGLY GODDESS
a tale from ancient Egypt
nonfiction
WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: TRADITION AND CHANGE co-authored with Ramsay M. Harik
a look at the variety of women's lives in the Middle East and North Africa
history
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
THE PHOENICIANS
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
stories in Y-A collections
"Lines of Scrimmage"
in FIRST CROSSING AND OTHER STORIES OF IMMIGRANT TEENS
"Scenes in a Roman Theatre"
in MEMORIES OF SUN: STORIES OF AFRICA AND AMERICA (2004)
"The Olive Grove"
in SOUL SEARCHING: THIRTEEN STORIES ABOUT FAITH AND BELIEF

Quick Links

Authors Guild
E-mail me
Find Authors

CYNTHIA AND THE RUNAWAY GAZEBO

...Cynthia fights off bloodthirsty pirates...

Timid little Cynthia has no more idea of how to be a gracious hostess than how to be a sea captain. A thunderstorm spoils the garden party, forcing Cynthia and her guests to take shelter in a gazebo. But they are swept out to sea--and captured by pirates! Will our heroine rise to the occasion?

CYNTHIA AND THE RUNAWAY GAZEBO was made into a rollicking musical play, "Pirates in the Gazebo!", by Leonard Hort (book) and Burt Polayes (music). The famous Peterborough Players theatre, Peterborough, New Hampshire, produced its world premiere in August, 2000.



SOME IDEAS TO TALK ABOUT . . .

What do you think makes Cynthia start to feel strong and determined, after being so timid?

How would you remind a pirate captain of his manners?

What's a hostess's first duty to her guests, in your opinion?