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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Smith, R. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Smith, R. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Smith, R. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | TEEN SMITH | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stayton Public Library | TEEN SMITH | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Determined, after his mother's accidental death, to foil his stepfather's plans for his future, fourteen-year-old Jacob travels alone to Africa in search of his father, a biologist studying elephants in a remote area of Kenya.
Summary
Determined, after his mother's accidental death, to foil his stepfather's plans for his future, fourteen-year-old Jacob travels alone to Africa in search of his father, a biologist studying elephants in a remote area of Kenya.
Author Notes
Roland Smith was born in Portland, Oregon on November 30, 1951. He received a Bachelor's degree in English from Portland State University. His job working for a children's zoo began a 20-year career as a zookeeper. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, his first non-fiction book, Sea Otter Rescue, was published in 1990. He continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996. His first novel, Thundercave, was published in 1997. His other fiction books include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, and Shatterproof. He also writes the I, Q. series and the Storm Runners series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Roland Smith was born in Portland, Oregon on November 30, 1951. He received a Bachelor's degree in English from Portland State University. His job working for a children's zoo began a 20-year career as a zookeeper. After working to save wildlife following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, his first non-fiction book, Sea Otter Rescue, was published in 1990. He continued to draw upon his zoo experiences for other non-fiction titles, including Journey of the Red Wolf, which won an Oregon Book Award in 1996. His first novel, Thundercave, was published in 1997. His other fiction books include The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe, Zach's Lie, Jack's Run, Cryptid Hunters, Peak, and Shatterproof. He also writes the I, Q. series and the Storm Runners series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-A maddening mix of adventure imbued with Hopi and Masai mysticism. Fourteen-year-old Jake Lansa, a half-Italian, half-Hopi boy who lives in New York City with his mother and stepfather, both anthropology professors, corresponds with his father, an idealistic field biologist studying elephants in Kenya. After his mother is run over by a car while jogging, Jake decides Kenya is a better bet than being shipped off to his relatives in Nebraska. One hitch is that his father is unreachable somewhere out in the bush. After surviving a mugging in Nairobi, Jake bicycles his way west, right past lions and warthogs. He befriends a well-educated Masai and together, their mission somehow linked by Jake's grandfather's kachina, they bring rain to the drought-stricken country, drive out ruthless poachers, and, of course, find Dr. Lansa. Survival tips, like learning how to stalk animals by seeing through their eyes, are engrossing, and the butchery of the elephants by the poachers is sobering. The conservation message isn't too ponderous, but other aspects of the story are preachy, and the ``voice-overs''-prophetic words uttered by Jake's father and grandfather-are repetitive and soon grate. The ``you're here for a reason'' theme is disappointing in the otherwise real and appealing My Side of the Mountain-like teenage-survival story.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Jacob's mother's death sets off an unbelievable chain of events in which he runs away from Brooklyn to Kenya to find his field biologist father, tangles with poachers, and befriends a wise Masai who needs only to do a rain ceremony to end the drought that has long crippled the country. Artificial, exaggerated drama prevents realistic character development or in-depth treatment of issues. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. After his mother is killed in a jogging accident and his stepfather decides to ship him off to live with relatives in Nebraska, 14-year-old Jacob Lansa opts to travel to Kenya in search of his father, a wildlife biologist tracking elephant herds. While crossing the Kenyan bush, Jacob meets Supeet, a young Masai on a quest to end the drought, and the two join forces. On their trek they encounter a dangerous ring of poachers, whose greed threatens Africa's wildlife with extinction. Although the novel is longer than most for this age group, the action never flags, and Smith's focus on local color and vivid attention to detail will make readers feel they are participants in Jacob's experiences. Reminiscent of Gary Paulsen's survival novels, this will appeal to adventure buffs. Eric Campbell's A Place of Lions (1991) provides a related look at east equatorial Africa. --Kay Weisman
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-A maddening mix of adventure imbued with Hopi and Masai mysticism. Fourteen-year-old Jake Lansa, a half-Italian, half-Hopi boy who lives in New York City with his mother and stepfather, both anthropology professors, corresponds with his father, an idealistic field biologist studying elephants in Kenya. After his mother is run over by a car while jogging, Jake decides Kenya is a better bet than being shipped off to his relatives in Nebraska. One hitch is that his father is unreachable somewhere out in the bush. After surviving a mugging in Nairobi, Jake bicycles his way west, right past lions and warthogs. He befriends a well-educated Masai and together, their mission somehow linked by Jake's grandfather's kachina, they bring rain to the drought-stricken country, drive out ruthless poachers, and, of course, find Dr. Lansa. Survival tips, like learning how to stalk animals by seeing through their eyes, are engrossing, and the butchery of the elephants by the poachers is sobering. The conservation message isn't too ponderous, but other aspects of the story are preachy, and the ``voice-overs''-prophetic words uttered by Jake's father and grandfather-are repetitive and soon grate. The ``you're here for a reason'' theme is disappointing in the otherwise real and appealing My Side of the Mountain-like teenage-survival story.-John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Jacob's mother's death sets off an unbelievable chain of events in which he runs away from Brooklyn to Kenya to find his field biologist father, tangles with poachers, and befriends a wise Masai who needs only to do a rain ceremony to end the drought that has long crippled the country. Artificial, exaggerated drama prevents realistic character development or in-depth treatment of issues. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. After his mother is killed in a jogging accident and his stepfather decides to ship him off to live with relatives in Nebraska, 14-year-old Jacob Lansa opts to travel to Kenya in search of his father, a wildlife biologist tracking elephant herds. While crossing the Kenyan bush, Jacob meets Supeet, a young Masai on a quest to end the drought, and the two join forces. On their trek they encounter a dangerous ring of poachers, whose greed threatens Africa's wildlife with extinction. Although the novel is longer than most for this age group, the action never flags, and Smith's focus on local color and vivid attention to detail will make readers feel they are participants in Jacob's experiences. Reminiscent of Gary Paulsen's survival novels, this will appeal to adventure buffs. Eric Campbell's A Place of Lions (1991) provides a related look at east equatorial Africa. --Kay Weisman