Skip to main content

Between Heaven and Earth

By
Between Heaven and Earth
by Eric Walters
Orca, 2012.  245 pgs. Fiction.

     First in Orca's new SEVEN series, this book tells DJ's story, oldest grandson of David McLean. Grandpa David, recently deceased, has left a bequest and requests for each of his grandsons to perform a task. DJ's is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and scatter granddad's ashes from the summit. DJ, a take-charge kind of guy, has always felt responsible for watching over and looking out for his twin brother and his cousins. He is honored to be carrying his grandfather's ashes, but since he is a linebacker in excellent shape, that climbing the mountain will be easy-peasy and that he will be back home in less than a week.  However, right off the bat his camping gear is stolen, and in return for getting it back,  he helps a young girl who wants to be a porter go up the mountain with him; he has a demanding tour guide who insists that he do exactly as he is told and travel polepole, Swahili for "slowly," when what he really wants to do is race up the mountain and be done. Gastrointestinal problems and altitude sickness complicate DJ's hike, but he meets people he would never imagine could help him, but who do. DJ is a good boy becoming a good man, but what he learns in Africa will help him become even better. Six more books will follow this strong beginning, telling the stories and quests of the remaining grandsons.  One can only hope they will be as good.  Best-suited for sixth grade readers and on up.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

By
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Hidden Dragon

By
The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Enigma Girls

By
  The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma
Post a Comment
Read more