HAPPY BIRTHDAY HERMAN!
Today is Herman Melville's birthday. While this auspicious date will probably be ignored in much of the country, here on Nantucket it is a day to be remembered.

For those of you who need a brief brush-up on your literary giants, Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819 in New York City. His father hailed from a well-established Boston family, and his grandfather was a survivor of the Boston Tea Party. Literature and literary influences played an early role in the family with Grandfather Melville being the subject of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem "The Last Leaf." Herman's maternal grandfather was the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw.

The reason Herman is such an icon of Nantucket, however, has nothing to do with his family connections. It has to do with his book "Moby Dick." Based on the logs of the whaleship Essex, Herman wrote this tome in 1851 while living in Lenox, Mass. While "Moby Dick" is Herman's most widely read novel today, it was a bitter financial disappointment during his life.

You can celebrate Herman's birthday with these summer-friendly ideas.

One obvious choice is to take your family to "Moby Dick! The Musical" currently in production at Bennett Hall by Theatre Workshop of Nantucket. The plot centers around a bankrupt school and the students who try to save it by putting on a musical version of Moby Dick. While Herman may not have envisioned his tale being performed as a musical, "Moby Dick! The Musical" is a great way to introduce your children to the theatre and a part of Nantucket history. You can purchase tickets online at www.theatreworkshop. org. The play runs from August 1 through August 25.

There are several wonderful books to introduce your child to whaling and Nantucket. "Moby Dick" is a little dense for most children, but driven highschoolers can usually handle it. If your child leans toward non-fiction, have them read "In the Heart of the Sea," written by Nantucket's own Nathaniel Philbrick. "Moby Dick" was based on the ship's logs of the whaleship Essex, and "In the Heart of the Sea" takes the reader on a rollicking journey through the real adventure. As most of us know, truth is usually much stranger, and more entertaining, than fiction.

For the middle school crew, Nathaniel Philbrick adapted his novel for young adults. "The Revenge of the Whale" is sure to keep your pre-teen's interest and introduce them to some of the history of this unique place they love.

For the grade school crew, there are several good "Moby Dick" adaptations. The illustrated "Moby Dick," retold by Lew Sayre Schwartz and illustrated by Richard Giordano, tells the classic story in a comic book format.

For the picture book crew, my favorite whale book has nothing to do with "Moby Dick" (so sorry, Herman). "Crookjaw," by Caron Lee Cohen, illustrated by Linda Bronson, tells the story of Ichabod Paddock, a Nantucket whaler. When he is bewitched by a whale, his wife Smilinda must save him by melting down the family silver and crafting a harpoon.

After you've enjoyed some quiet time while your children are reading, you may want to surprise them with a special gift of their own whale. The Whale Center of New England out of Gloucester, Mass. has programs to adopt humpback whales. With a $40 adoption fee, your children will get a color photo and biography of their whale, an adoption certificate, an audio of unique humpback whale calls (which has to be more relaxing than Christina Aguilera's latest blaring from The Rose 96.3), an adoption button, a whale watchers' companion guide, and a year subscription to the newsletter "Flukeprints." The Web site, www.whalecenter. org, has links with pictures of the whales available for adoption, as well as information on yearly sightings.

The grand finale, of course, is a trip to the Whaling Museum. Your child will see the 46-foot skeleton of a sperm whale that washed up on the Nantucket shoreline in 1998, as well real harpoons, pictures of seafaring men and women and other whaling artifacts. The Whaling Museum is located at the foot of Broad Street and is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday nights until 8 p.m.

Now if we could only get Herman to make a guest appearance to do a booksigning - that would be the icing on

the cake. I