This month's book reviews

A big, affectionate dog likes nothing better
than saving people from danger

The Callahans called their big dog "Santa Paws" because they had brought him home to live at their house at Christmastime. They lived in Oceanport, a small New England town. Besides Santa Paws, the family included Mr. and Mrs. Callahan, fourteen year old Patricia, thirteen year old Gregory, and, of course, the two cats named Evelyn and Abigail. Except for the cats, Santa Paws got along very well with everyone in town. During his three years with the Callahans, he had made a name for himself by finding help for people in trouble. All the firemen and paramedics knew to pay attention when Santa Paws came barking for their help.

It was the last day of school before Christmas Eve. The Weather Channel had just announced that New England was in for a big snow and that temperatures would be unusually low for the next week or so. Of course, Santa Paws did not understand the weather report, but he did pick up that there was something going on that was making everybody anxious. Mrs. Callahan had to do some last minute Christmas shopping, Gregory had a hockey game at Eastman school, and Patricia had to stay late after school. Just when the snow storm was hitting town, his family members were out in it. At home, Mr. Callahan and Santa Paws were getting more worried by the minute.

Among other things that happen during the storm, a tree fell on the Callahan house, and that part of the house had to be closed off. Mrs. Callahan's car slid off the road and she was trapped in the car with a broken leg. Other members of the family kept coming and going from the house and risking the storm looking for each other. As you might guess, Santa Paws emerged as the hero of the day.

 

Twin brother and sister are caught up
in their parents' spy activity

Andrew Wall and his sister, Evie, had lost their mother on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year they turned eleven years old. Their mom had left them a good-bye note that turned out to be a coded message. After ten months of hectic hunting, the kids had found their mother. She had led them on a chase, going from one secret coded message to another. Her idea was to train the kids to be spies as they tried to rescue her. The twins were supposed to trust no one. But, unfortunately, they had trusted Marisol, a nanny that their dad had hired to take care of them. They did find their mom, but because Marisol was working for the other side, the two kids and their mom were now fleeing for their lives from "The Company."

The kids and their mom were now part of "The Resistance," the secret group that was trying to thwart The Company's moves to take over the government of the country. The kids knew they had to get their parents together to talk. Their dad had told them that The Company was a legitimate organization that their mom had betrayed. But their mom told a different story. She had worked for The Company until she found out they were involved in multiple murders and had plans to take over the government. The kids believed their dad had been lied to by The Company, and that's why he continued to work for them. Whatever the truth about their dad, clearly The Company was now out to kill not just their mother, but the twins also. All three of them had to go underground to keep from being murdered.

Well, you've got the idea. This is a spy novel for kids with all the twists and turns that can be found in any grown-up thrillers. If you like the challenge of figuring out what coded messages mean, you will like this little novel. Besides coping with plenty of danger and action, the twins are trying to unlock one code after another. It turns out this book is number four in a series, and the ending sets you up for number five. You still don't really know whether the twin's dad is one of the good guys or one of the bad ones.

 

Can a baby owl change a logger's mind
about spotted owls?

When the book begins, Borden Watson is walking through the forest looking for owls to shoot. Why does he want to shoot owls? Well, his father had lost his job as a lumber cutter, because some judge had declared cutting trees down in that wooded area of the Northwest was illegal. The judge thought it ruined the forest for spotted owls, which could no longer thrive with the trees cut down. Borden wouldn't shoot barred owls, because they weren't the species that cost his father his job. He thought he just hated spotted owls.

On one of his trips into the woods, Borden found an owlet that had fallen from its nest. It was fluffy and white. No spots. He thought it must be a baby barred owl, so he thought it was safe to take it home. He was relieved, since if it had spots he might have to kill it.

Borden's father, Leon, wasn't happy that his son brought a baby owl home. But Leon was going to have to appear before a judge, because he had been in a fight with someone who wanted to save the spotted owls. Borden convinced Leon that the little owl was a barred owl. Beside, Leon figured, if the judge knew his family was helping a barred owl, the judge might go easier on him.

Borden managed to get the owlet to eat by cutting his food into small pieces and feeding him. Bardy, as the owlet was named, began to grow rapidly. The whole family thought he was cute, even Leon. The trouble didn't begin until a few days later. As Bardy was growing new feathers, Borden noticed to his horror that the owl was starting to show spots! He was really a spotted owl!

What will happen when Leon, the father, discovers that the owl his son brought home is really a spotted owl? Is there any chance now that Bardy could be returned to the woods and raised the rest of the way by his owl parents? Would Leon insist that Bardy be shot and his parents along with him, even if they did return?