Thunder Cave (Thunder Cave, 1) - Hardcover

Smith, Roland

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786820551 ISBN 13: 9780786820559

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1997

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Roland Smith is the author of Zach's Lie, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers; Cryptid Hunters; Thunder Cave; Jaguar; The Last Lobo; and Sasquatch. He lives outside of Portland, Oregon, with his wife Marie, who also writes children's books.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 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
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0786820551
• ISBN 13: 9780786820559
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256