Out on the islands that poke their rocky shores above the waters of Penobscot Bay, you can watch the time of the world go by, from minute to minute, hour to hour, from day to day... So begins McCloskey's classic story of one summer on a Maine island. The spell of rain, the gulls and a foggy morning, the excitement of sailing, the quiet of the night, the sudden terror of a hurrican, and, in the end, the peace of the island as the family packs up to leave are shown in poetic language and vibrant, evocative pictures.