|
July
2002 Vol.3 Issue 7
This
month's book reviews
An
exciting present day adventure series
with flashbacks to World War II
"Island,
book three, Escape" by Gordon Korman, is an Apple Paperback
published by Scholastic, Inc. The three book series is more
adventure that history, but it does contain as part of its
plot what was supposed to be a third atomic bomb left over
on a Pacific island, after two had been dropped on Japan in
1945. The books concern themselves largely with how three
early teenagers, whose parents or guardians saw each of them
as needing some "straightening out," came to be
marooned on an uncharted Pacific island and to learn to get
along with each other in order to survive. "Escape"
is the last one in the series and details how the kids finally
escaped the hostile environment after several weeks of privation.
J.J. Lane, one
of the castaways and the spoiled son of a world famous movie
star, heroically volunteered to be the instrument of the group's
ultimate rescue. By sneaking aboard the plane of murderous
smugglers who were using the island for the trading of stolen
goods, J.J. hoped to make it to civilization and send rescuers
back for the other five kids. One of those left behind had
been accidentally shot by the smugglers and needed surgery
or would likely die from infection. You get the idea. These
little books are an ultimate "survivors" story for
kids. They offer good summer reading for your preteen or early
teenage boy or girl.
- Buy this book
from
A
series of paperback adventure stories by an award-winning
author of kids' books
Gary Paulson
is a popular and critically acclaimed children's writer. Three
of his earlier books are Newbery Honors books. "Tucket's
Home" is the slim fifth volume of a five book series
concerned with the adventures of Francis Tucket. Publisher's
Weekly said of an earlier book in the series, "A real
rock 'em, sock 'em ripsnorter guaranteed to keep any boy and
any girl...enthralled from the first page to the last."
The hyperbole applies right through the concluding volume
in the series.
As with most good
adventure stories for kids, "Tucket's Home" involves
a young hero who prevails against insurmountable odds in an
adult-ruled world. In Francis Tucket's case, he prevails against
raiding Indians, Comancheros, murderous renegade soldiers,
and a variety of dangers from a naturally hostile environment.
He is only fourteen, himself, but he travels with a ten-year-old
and an eight-year-old orphaned brother and sister that he
picked up along the Oregon Trail. His mentor and sometime
protector is a one-armed mountain man, named Jason Grimes,
who happens to pop up at propitious times. If you pick these
books up for your child, if you have any spirit of adventure
at all, I'll bet you end up reading them yourself.
- Buy this book
from
A
young girl and her mother try to
start a newspaper in a post-Civil War
Colorado mining town
"Whistler
in the Dark" authored by Kathleen Ernst is a recent addition
to a list of books called History Mysteries published by "American
Girl" magazine. The 12-year-old heroine in this book
is embarrassed by her mother's efforts to defy tradition in
1867 and wear what was called a "Reform Dress" in
that era. But Emma's mother, widowed by the Civil War, was
trying valiantly to make her way as a businesswoman and to
open up opportunities later for her young daughter.
The book, then,
combines mystery and adventure with a look at the Colorado
gold mining days, frontier newspaper publishing, and women's
struggle to gain acceptance as serious participants in what
was seen as a "man's world." All the historical
background is absorbed painlessly by the young reader who
gets absorbed in a great adventure story. "Whistler in
the Dark" is one of the better entries in the series
billed as "Intrigue for Girls 10 and up."
- Buy this book
from
A
paperback reissue of an earlier book
that was the basis of a made for TV movie
"Summer of
the Monkeys" was written by Wilson Rawls, author of the
popular and critically acclaimed "Where the Red Fern
Grows." Both are now published as Yearling Books by Dell
Publishing in paperback after first appearing in print thirty
or more years earlier. This 1999 issue of "Summer of
the Monkeys" is illustrated with pictures from the Disney
made for TV movie based on the book. The publisher reports
a fifth grade reading level with interest for kids 10 and
up.
"Summer of
the Monkeys" tells the improbable story of a boy in 1890's
Oklahoma trying to capture a number of monkeys lost from a
circus wagon when it overturned. It depicts the hardscrabble
life of homesteading farmers as it quietly and concurrently
points up the invaluable gifts that come from growing up in
a stable and loving home environment. This story has it all
- the loyal dog as best friend, an understanding mother and
father, a courageous twin sister, a pair of grandparents that
know just how to treat their grandkids, and a just slightly
rebellious young hero who comes of age as the adventure unfolds.
- Buy this book
from
|
