The Secrets of Harmony Island

By Judy Bauer

"The Secrets of Harmony Island" tells the story of Zack, a young boy who lives on a farm in Pennsylvania. Since there are no other children nearby, he has made friends with many of the animals on the property. In the spring, when they all get together, they recount several of their past adventures and plan their next one. The story and lessons within this book are written for children between the ages of 9-12. This book provides education on the principles of decision-making through creative storytelling.
Although this story is fictional, it takes place on a real farm in Pennsylvania where the author lives with her husband.
While on Harmony Island, Zack and his friends learn to use the process for making decisions that the author's brother Barry F. Anderson, PhD, developed. The book also shows that just because someone doesn't look like you, doesn't mean that they can't think and reason, and that you can't be friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098372408

Book preview

Chapter 1

Spring

It’s a very fine, warm, spring day down by the creek. A few geese, after flying majestically in the air, beautifully glide to a landing on the water. They are graceful in the air or on the water. But when on land, the geese move awkwardly.

Once they have babies they spend much of their time on land teaching them to find food and then to swim. They mainly eat grass and insects. Sometimes they eat fish as well. I watch, as the geese, with their goslings following closely, walk near the shore where their nest is hidden in the tall grass. I really like to watch the goslings run around while their parents take turns keeping an eye on them.

The water is running slowly over the rocks and pausing in a large pool. The ducks, that appear not to have a care in the world, are swimming in the pool with the water still cold from the winter. They have their ducklings in tow, teaching them to swim and, like the goslings, to find food. They eat all kinds of things like small frogs, crayfish, seeds, insects, grass, snails, salamanders, and much more. There are also native brown trout in the creek. The ducks eat both the very young brown trout and the trout’s eggs. Ducks, like the geese, seem like they belong both in the water and in the air.

Yesterday a man wearing a uniform stopped at the edge of the creek. He took a very large container from his truck and emptied the contents into the creek. It was the rainbow trout delivery man. He is sure footed on the land, but when he reaches the edge of the creek he must get very close to the water where it is slippery. He tries his very best not to fall in the water. But some years he is not successful and falls in. He sounds angry when this happens. He comes every year in April and puts the fish in our creek. Well, it’s not really our creek. It runs through our property. But nobody can really own a creek. At least in Pennsylvania, anybody can fish in it.

The herons look delighted to see this yearly event. They stand, hunched over, on the shore, watching for the fish to swim by. Sometimes they stand knee deep in the water. The fish think their legs are plants. The herons can dip their long beaks in and pick out the fish they want. Occasionally, I see a heron fly up and down the creek scouting for trout. When it sees a trout it swoops in and catches it in its beak. I like watching them, because after the heron catches the trout it has to flip it around so it can go down its throat. For a creature with the long legs of a ballerina, this maneuver looks very awkward. Sometimes, though not often, the heron will drop the trout while trying to get it straight. When that happens, my outdoor cats are the lucky ones. I have two cats that live in the house and two that live outside in the garage. My family and I live in the big house that is uphill from the creek.

Several days after the container of trout is emptied into the creek, fishermen line the far side of the creek in the hope of catching some of the fish. Most of these fishermen have high rubber boots on their legs so they can stand in the creek while fishing and, like the herons, be mistaken for plants. The fishermen are at home either in the water or on the land. They are not like the geese, ducks and herons who would rather be in the air or on the water. I don’t know how the fishermen know there would suddenly be trout in the creek. I guess it’s because it happens at the same time each year. I should ask my Dad how they know. He’ll know. He knows everything.

I don’t like it when people are by the creek. I would really prefer to be down there by myself or with my friend Gordie. But, when Gordie sees other people are there he runs home and hides in his hole. For a groundhog, Gordie is pretty brave. But people frighten him. He doesn’t understand them. They make a lot of noise.

Speaking of noise, here comes Mom. She makes a lot of noise when she mows the lawn. She has a really cool riding lawn mower that Dad got her. It looks like it would be fun. Maybe someday she will let me mow the lawn. When she goes by, the machine spits out grass and leaves and anything else she goes over. I’m glad she only does that once a week. It always frightens Gordie. If I’m not with him he runs back to his house, under the walnut tree, near the summer house.

Chapter 2

Gordie

I’ve worried that Gordie would want to move to a quieter place. But he says that it