The Explorer

The Explorer

By Katherine Rundell

In a small plane, four children travel over the Amazon jungle.  Each has a good reason to be on an excursion without their parents and will meet their adults at their destination.  But when the pilot has what appears to be a heart attack, Fred, Con, Lila and her little brother Max find themselves alone in the jungle with the wreckage of a plane.

The four city children are out of their element.  Fred and Con, in fact, come from “proper” British backgrounds and have never been allowed to explore.  Both have always behaved “sensibly”.

But Fred adores explorers and has read many books about them.  His book knowledge allows him to figure out how to survive in the jungle.  Lila, too, has some survival skills.  The children manage to build a shelter and a fire.  Food is scarce, but Lila’s knowledge of animals and the natural world helps keep them safe.

Then they find a map.  “X” marks the spot and the four survivors decide to follow the map to its conclusion.  What they don’t expect is to find “the explorer” at the other end.

In an ancient and forgotten city in the middle of the Amazon jungle, the children meet the explorer.  He wears furs, eats practically anything and knows his way around.  He is also arrogant with no desire to have children or anyone else around.  But when one of them becomes ill, only he can help the children find their way back home.

The Explorer is, first and foremost, and adventure story.  But it will also make you believe that anything is possible and that you are much more capable than you think.

Highly recommended!

Carson Crosses Canada

Carson Crosses Canada

By Linda Bailey, illustrated by Kass Reich

Annie and her dog Carson live in Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.  When Annie decides to take a road trip to visit her sister in Newfoundland, Carson doesn’t realize how long it will take.

The cross Canada adventure takes Annie and Carson through Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, over the Rockies, across the prairies, to Niagara Falls and beyond.  The pair dances to Acadian music in their campground, swims in Lake Winnipeg, visits the home of Anne of Green Gables and finally meets Annie’s sister on her east coast island.

Kass Reich’s colourful paintings bring the landscapes and landmarks of Canada to life.

Carson Crosses Canada is a picture book that will appeal to children from 4-8 years old.

Highly recommended!

 

Greenglass House

Greenglass House

By Kate Milford

As Christmas approaches, twelve-year-old Milo Pine can’t wait for his vacation.  But plans to spend the holidays alone with his parents are thwarted as a series of unexpected guests arrives at Greenglass House, which doubles as a hotel.

Each guest is unusual in his or her own way.  Georgie has blue hair and carries The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book which contains folklore about the local area.  Clem runs all the way up the Grouse Grind-like staircase that leads to the house and always moves in complete silence.  Mr. Vinge wears polka dotted, argyle or other fancy socks at all times.  

These are only some of the houseguests and all of them have secrets.  When items start to go missing from the guestrooms, Milo and his new friend Meddy devise a scheme to find the thief.

The two children explore the house and begin to learn about its past; they discover that each of the guests has some kind of link to the house.  The mystery deepens as the stolen items are found.  Maps, codes, watermarks, a keychain and the house’s green stained glass all become pieces of a puzzle that Milo and Meddy must solve.

As the snow outside turns into a full-blown storm, the power goes out at Greenglass House.  The guests are effectively trapped in the remote hotel with a thief among them.  Can Milo and Meddy solve the mystery and keep all the guests (and Milo’s parents) safe? 

If you love puzzles and codes and solving mysteries, this book is for you.  Get cozy on your winter holidays and read Greenglass House!

Red River Raging

Red River Raging

By Penny Draper

Thirteen-year-old Finn Armstrong is a world traveler.  With a home base in Vancouver, Finn accompanies his parents on their international research trips.  This year he was supposed to go to Egypt, but instead he’s been sent to St. Agathe, Manitoba to stay with his grandmother and great-grandfather, known simply as Armstrong.

Finn is not too thrilled about moving to a town where nothing happens, but he starts to feel better when he begins making friends.  Finn soon learns the ways of prairie life: he goes skating at the Forks, a trail system on the frozen Red River, plays Cribbage with Armstrong and even tries ice fishing. 

Finn also learns that the Red River floods every year, but that a dyke system has been built to protect the towns and cities along its banks, including Winnipeg.  But when all the signs start pointing toward a major flood, Finn decides that he will step up to help save the prairie residents and their homes.

Sandbagging, building dykes, working in standing water and wearing gumboots all become second nature to Finn.  In fact, he and his friends start a Flood Club and recruit their classmates to travel wherever they are needed to help out.  It’s actually a lot of fun.

But when the river really starts flooding, everyone in town watches with baited breath as the flood moves north along the river.  Each day it passes through a new town, starting in the United States and continuing up into Canada.  In some towns, the dykes hold and the town is safe.  In others, homes and businesses end up under water, families must be saved from rooftops, and people’s lives are turned upside down.

Based on true events, Red River Raging is the story of the Red River flood of 1997.  Penny Draper’s Disaster Strikes series deals with real Canadian disasters.  If you like historical fiction or a good disaster story, this series is for you!

The Poet's Dog

The Poet's Dog

By Patricia MacLachlan

Siblings Flora and Nickel are lost in a snowstorm.  As the blizzard envelops them, someone comes to the rescue.  But Teddy is not your usual someone – he is a dog.

Teddy takes the two children to his cabin.  The poet who used to take care of Teddy is gone, and Teddy is all alone.  Until now.  

Although Teddy has words and understands English, most people cannot hear dogs when they talk.  But because they are children, Flora and Nickel can hear Teddy and they are thrilled to meet him.  They spend 5 days in his cabin, cooking meals and sleeping by the fire while the wind and snow rage outside.

The poet’s story slowly unfolds during the children’s visit.  Where did he go?  And why has Teddy been left all alone?

The Poet’s Dog is a lovely story about friendship and understanding between humans and animals.  The lyrical writing feels like a long poem.  Although both children and dog are stranded in a forest cabin, they never feel lonely, because they have each other.  But sooner or later, Flora and Nickel will have to return home to their parents.

Will anyone ever come to find them?  And what will become of Teddy, a dog on his own?

Highly recommended, especially for kids who love animals!