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He spent the latter part of his career as a tillerman, steering the rear part of a big red truck.

The album reunites Stevens with producer Paul Samwell-Smith, who produced three Stevens albums between 1970-72 — “Tea for the Tillerman,” “Teaser and the Firecat” and “Catch Bull at Four.”

I said that I read Cat Stevens’s “Tea for the Tillerman” a lot.

As a slightly older reader, I was wild for the Tillerman novels by Cynthia Voigt and the Alanna adventures by Tamora Pierce, about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to become a knight.

I found myself worried for both children, wanting badly for them to catch a break, or just a breath — much in the same way I once wanted Oliver Twist to find a home, or Dicey Tillerman, or any of the archetypal orphans I’ve encountered in literature.