The Children's Hour - Children's Book Reviews - Upper Grades

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OPERATION TYPHOON SHORE: THE GUILD OF SPECIALISTS BOOK 2
written by Joshua Mowll, illus. by Julek Heller, Niroot Puttapipat, (Candlewick Press, $15.99, ISBN 0-7636-3122-1), 288p, Ages 11+.
Set in 1920 and continuing their adventures from Operation Red Jericho, Becca, Doug, and their uncle, Captain MacKenzie, find themselves stranded by a typhoon on a volcanic island in the South Pacific. Along with friends, Becca and Doug concentrate on locating a missing gyrolabe, solving the mysteries of the Guild of Specialists, and locating their missing parents. The art, maps, photographs, and appendixes are remarkable in detail and certainly add to the story's appeal. This is a great page-turner for kids who love Jules Verne and Indiana Jones.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illus. by Pam Smy, (Candlewick Press, $17.99, ISBN 0-7636-3064-0), 176p, Ages 14+.
Taken from the original version published from 1901 to 1902, this edition is particularly appealing, due to the striking illustrations throughout. The famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, is hired to investigate a murder, a diabolical curse surrounding the Baskerville family, and threats to the Baskerville heir, Sir Henry. Holmes and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, investigate several suspicious characters as well as the legend of a murderous hound that roams the moors. Nightly sounds of a woman wailing, secretive servants, peculiar neighbors, an escaped killer, a quicksand marsh, and the howl of a legendary hound combine with the bleakness of the moors and the lizards of the bogs to make this novel a page-turner. No believer in the supernatural, Holmes believes that the answers lie with the natural world. The suspenseful climax has made this mystery a classic for more than a hundred years.

BORIS
written by Cynthia Rylant, (Harcourt, Inc., $5.95, ISBN 0-15-205809-5), 80p, Ages 14+.
Told in 19 vignettes of free-verse poems, Boris is for anyone who possesses a speck of fondness for cats and the companionship that they provide, in spite of their quirky habits. A young woman who did not intend to acquire another pet passes a pet shop and adopts Boris and his sister. Boris settles in, provides companionship, entertainment and drama, and makes himself at home.

            "It's clear by now, Boris,
            that we shouldn't have
            bought that kitty video.
            Look at what it's made you:
            an ottoman potato."

The young woman expresses her feelings in a range of emotions from caged animals in shelters, eagles that swoop down and carry off cats, packs of dogs that roam the neighborhood to the relentless aging process, moving on to other locations, and understanding the instincts and habits of felines.

            "Boris, you weren't supposed to
            beat up an old cat.
            Yes, he was new to the neighborhood.
            Yes, he was on your walking path.
            But, Boris, he was
            seventeen years old
            for godsakes.
            Arched and hobbling like
            a bent-up coat hanger.
            And didn't you admire him,
            just a little,
            the way he insisted on
            following his owner to
            the end of the path,
            though it must have
            seemed a day's journey to him,
            that path you streaked across
            in seconds?"

This is a short read, but it is excellent with humor, wisdom, and reflections on life.

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