Blending history, oral history, autobiography, and travel narrative, Bland Simpson explores the islands that lie in the sounds, rivers, and swamps of North Carolina's inner coast. In each of the fifteen chapters in the book, Simpson covers a single island or group of islands, many of which, were it not for the buffering Outer Banks, would be lost to the ebbs and flows of the Atlantic. Instead they are home to unique plant and animal species and well-established hardwood forests, and many retain vestiges of an earlier human history.

An island is a habitat for land-living organisms as well as creatures that visit from their ocean homes. Peel back the corners of the island to discover the incredible organisms that live in this ecosystem, from lizards and birds to possums and bats.

Do you know what a group of islands is called? It’s an archipelago! This book explores islands in all their forms, with a focus on Next Generation Science Standards. Readers learn how islands and archipelagos are formed by nature and also made by humans. Full-color pictures transport readers across oceans from one famous island to the next. Nonfiction text features, including a glossary and an index, support Common Core standards for early elementary instruction. Children will love learning about this important earth science topic.

History, oral history, autobiography, and travel narrative come together in this exploration of the geography and biodiversity of the islands that lie in eastern North Carolina's sounds, rivers, and swamps.