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CM . . . . Volume XVI Number 25. . . .March 5, 2010. 
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Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle. (Orca Young Readers).
Sara Leach.
Victoria, BC: Orca, 2009.
101 pp., pbk., $7.95.
ISBN 978-1-55469-145-6.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Robert Groberman.
***/4
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excerpt:
Fear rushed through Jake’s body like lightning exploding a tree. He inched his head around and looked where Emily was pointing. A wolf stood as still as the boulders on the beach, but Jake knew this was the real thing. Two icy blue eyes studied him from between the soggy hemlock branches twenty paces away. He saw a wet black nose, patches of white and gray fur, and a body bigger than a large dog’s.
In her novel, Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle, Sara Leach tells a story of two children in grade four spending a vacation on a BC island. Jake believes a local rumour that there is a wolf on the island. He wonders how he would handle the danger of a confrontation. His friend Emily is more practical and explains how unlikely it would be for a wolf to get to an island. She is more interested in observing nature, especially the eagle nests they have found.
The relationship between these two characters makes for interesting reading. Each has the chance to save the other in this charming novel which includes the additional characters of Jake’s mother and baby sister and colourful islanders who all have opinions about nature and keeping the island free from development.
Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle is a novel which introduces concepts about friendship, family responsibility and conserving natural spaces. Author Leach examines each with sensitivity and age-appropriate language. When Jake notices that his younger sister, Sierra, prefers spending time with Emily, he is distressed. “He knew he shouldn’t care that Sierra hadn’t given him a sour berry, but it bothered him that she liked Emily so much. Why did she think Emily was so perfect? She was just a girl who read a lot of books. She wasn’t that special.”
Recommended.
Robert Groberman is a grade three teacher at Kirkbride Elementary School in Surrey, BC.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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