Valuable skills and tips for safely enjoying the great outdoors wrapped in an easy-to-read, fun guide.
This entry and a companion in the Go Wild series encourage kids to get out in nature and give them some of the skills that will help them survive and enjoy their journeys.
This slim, colorful volume teaches skills vital in emergencies (or maybe just on the next camping trip): building a shelter, making fire (with matches, flint and steel, and a fire drill), knife safety, getting safe drinking water, catching food (fishing, making and using a slingshot—but only if you are truly starving), foraging for food, cooking, and calling for help with fire signals, mirrors, or ground signals. Easy-to-follow numbered steps and clear cartoon illustrations make it easy for kids to pick up and then try out their outdoor skills, and most of the recommended supplies are either common or cheaply obtained. The simultaneously publishing Be an Explorer teaches kids navigational skills—map, compass, finding your way without either, and also in fog, making a map, and hunting for geocached treasure—and how to identify rock types and some common rocks, find fossils and shells, predict weather based on clouds and other clues, avoid bad weather, and observe the night sky—the phases of the moon and some constellations. Both books emphasize safety and that adults should be involved in helping kids learn and practice the skills presented. Humorous cartoon animals throughout and a closing spread of factoids round out the fun.
Valuable skills and tips for safely enjoying the great outdoors wrapped in an easy-to-read, fun guide. (table of contents, glossary) (Informational picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4677-6356-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hungry Tomato/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A riddling, sporting adventure and a story of true friendship.
“Like three sides of the same triangle, none of us can imagine what life would be like if we weren’t together.”
Sarah, West, and Hannah have been an intrepid trio since they first met. They bring their passion for math and numbers and their perfectly aligned strengths to solving escape rooms. With a foreclosure looming on Sarah’s family home—which would mean moving to live with her grandparents in Michigan—the only solution is to seek out the rumored Triplet Treasure belonging to Hans, Stefan, and Karl Stein. The treasure is supposedly hidden in a long-abandoned fun house they built in the 1950s. To outmaneuver the triplets’ ingenious riddles and tricks, the friends will need to overcome personal obstacles and unlock the doors within themselves. While the stakes are high, it’s reassuring for readers to know that Sarah’s family has a place to go, even if it’s far away from her friends. Early chapters detail the health challenges faced by Sarah’s father; his chronic illness has placed a strain on the family’s finances. Currie sets up a moving metaphor: Sarah’s enthusiasm for escape rooms becomes a means of tackling the unsolvable puzzle that has left her parent confined to his own inescapable room. This topic is treated with a gentle touch, but Sarah’s emotional depths could have been explored more deeply; West’s and Hannah’s emotional arcs are fulfilling, however. Main characters read white.
A riddling, sporting adventure and a story of true friendship. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728259536
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.
Basketball-playing twins find challenges to their relationship on and off the court as they cope with changes in their lives.
Josh Bell and his twin, Jordan, aka JB, are stars of their school basketball team. They are also successful students, since their educator mother will stand for nothing else. As the two middle schoolers move to a successful season, readers can see their differences despite the sibling connection. After all, Josh has dreadlocks and is quiet on court, and JB is bald and a trash talker. Their love of the sport comes from their father, who had also excelled in the game, though his championship was achieved overseas. Now, however, he does not have a job and seems to have health problems the parents do not fully divulge to the boys. The twins experience their first major rift when JB is attracted to a new girl in their school, and Josh finds himself without his brother. This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story.
Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-10771-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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