A Friend for Cyril: Further Adventures of Cyril the Seagull

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Cyril is a young seagull who lives on an isolated bay on Canada’s West
Coast. Three people share his sea cove: a boy named Danny, and the
boy’s parents. Because life on the bay is so lonely, Cyril and Danny
meet and soon become friends. All summer long they explore the seashore
together and have great fun. One autumn day, they notice a forest fire
in the distance. Because it is so far away, neither Danny nor Cyril is
alarmed. That same night, Cyril wakes up to the smell of smoke. The fire
has invaded Cyril’s bay, and he knows his friends are asleep in their
nearby house. Although he is terribly afraid, it is up to Cyril to save
his friends.

If you are a Cyril the Seagull fan, this is the long-awaited sequel.
Author Patricia Lines has an unpolished but engaging ability to tell a
story. Rae Whitesell’s illustrations are competent. Although the book
looks like an inexpensively produced chapbook, it represents one of the
better efforts of a micro press. Recommended with reservations.