"The story's focus on Gabe, as cranky and independent as his human, makes for a surprisingly accessible introduction to the 1970s for middle graders. (afterword) (Graphic memoir. 8-10)"
Just as Steinbeck took Charley on his travels, teenage Gill went with Gabe: "Home was where your friends were, so Gabe and I became each other's home."
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"Though mostly of regional interest, this could easily be paired with other female tall tales, such as Anne Isaacs and Paul Zelinsky's Swamp Angel (1994), Jerdine Nolen and Kadir Nelson's Thunder Rose (2003) and Lynne Bertrand and Kevin Hawkes' Granite Baby (2005). (Picture book. 5-9)"
"Aside from one view of an oil-soaked stretch of coastline, the general tone is light, upbeat and welcoming, and whether driven by pleasure or purpose, readers will linger over both the pictures and the word portraits. (map) (Nonfiction. 8-10)"
Gill connects Endres's eye-filling nature photos with bits of Alaskan history, engagingly awkward rhymed stanzas set off in a larger typeface, pithy advice for newly arrived "cheechakos" ("Never go into the woods by yourself.
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"Pair with Jerdine Nolen's Thunder Rose (2003) for tall-tale telling, female style. (map) (Picture book/tall tale. 5-8)"
Two long-time Alaska residents take the name of a local and beloved flower and give it to an outsized heroine in this awkwardly scanned, rhymed tall tale.
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