STRANGER ON BIG HICKORY

Descriptions of the wildlife to be found in a rural area of upstate New York lend interest to this story about the 16-year-old Skip Rollins, who makes a 4-H Club project of photographing the animals in the woods of his county. Starting with common species such as field mice and foxes, he manages to get a collection of twenty different animals, including exciting action shots of a rattlesnake, a mountain lion, and even bears. In his explorations Skip notices some illegal traps, which he attributes to a mysterious bearded stranger seen wandering in the woods. The stranger, however, turns out to be a retired biology instructor also interested in catching the rapper, who, it seems, is one of Skip's fellow club members. Although weak in plot and characterization, this story will lend encouragement to anyone interested in doing first-hand nature study.