Garbage Creek: And Other Stories - Hardcover

Valgardson, W. D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888992971 ISBN 13: 9780888992970

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 1997

Synopsis

Stories feature young Canadians, including Erin who wants to keep land her father plans to sell, Billy and Marianne who find a trapped wolf cub, and others

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Contemporary children struggle with ethical dilemmas in these sensitive and involving short stories, with black-and-white chapter illustrations to draw readers in. In ``The Sand Artist,'' Rainbow likes her life with her hippie mother in a little hut near the beach, and isn't sure she wants to move with her back to the city. Sam, a character who appears in several stories, is a computer nerd whose cyber-skills help him ``get a life'' in the real world. In ``Babysitting Kwon Lin,'' Richard learns to overcome language differences when he is abruptly drafted into taking care of his landlord's niece, who speaks only Chinese. In the title story, Jim and Angie escape their family problems by hanging out at a nearby creek that's polluted; when they discover that it used to be a spawning bed for salmon, they decide to clean up the creek in order to bring back the fish. In fact, Valgardson (Winter Rescue, 1995, etc.) repeatedly affirms youngsters' affinity for the natural world: In several of the stories the young protagonists attempt to restore to nature what adults have damaged. Ultimately, it's the author's recognition of how children and teenagers adapt to new situations and how they grapple with moral issues that make these tales ring true. (Short stories. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Booklist:

Gr. 4^-6. Protecting nature, economic hardship, absent fathers, moving--these are recurring themes in this offbeat collection of eight short stories. Rainbow likes living in an ocean-front squatters' colony with her mother so well that she is upset at the prospect of moving back to the city; Richard hates the city apartment he and his mom moved to when his father abandoned them; Erin tries to convince her father of the worth of 40 acres of land he is about to sell. Each story can be enjoyed independently, but the repetition of themes links the stories in a way that will help youngsters relate to the characters. A good choice for readers ready to move beyond simple chapter books but not prepared to tackle longer novels. Lauren Peterson

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0888992971
• ISBN 13: 9780888992970
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96