First off, I must apologize to Darlene Foster. She sent me this
autographed book ages ago and it got lost in those piles of books that
tend to take over our house. It isn't that I didn't want to read it I just
couldn't find it until we recently moved.
Foster's Amanda series is about a preteen girl who travels around
the world and solves mysteries. In this adventure, Amanda stays home and her
friend, Leah, comes to visit from England. When they are watching the parade at
the Calgary Stampede, Amanda picks up a rock that fell from the pocket of one
of the rodeo clowns. He left before she got a chance to return it to him. It
turns out that this is no ordinary stone. As Amanda and Leah travel around
Alberta visiting different places in the province, they are stalked by a
nefarious character who wants the rock for himself.
Amanda in Alberta is loaded with lots of action and adventure as
the girls attempt to elude him and discover more about the stone. Along the
way, as they travel around the province, readers learn about Alberta as a
modern place, but also about its history and geography. They visit Head Smashed
in Buffalo Jump, a world heritage site that showcases how First Nations people
of the area hunted and preserved buffalo. Another destination is Drumheller,
where they visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum and learn about dinosaurs.
What worked for me:
It was enjoyable to read about familiar places. Foster has
captured a sense of place in this novel. I liked the action and adventure that
keep readers entertained at the same time as it will educate them. Through
Leah's visit, Foster introduces readers to Alberta's First Nations people. At
the same time as they are revealed as an historic culture, she also shows them
as modern people living modern lives.
The large print made this book easy to read for me. It will also
make it easier for younger readers to navigate. It is a bit more than a chapter
book as it is written at about a grade 4 flesch kincaid reading level. It
would make a great read aloud, and will probably appeal most to readers from
ages 7 to 12 as Amanda and Leah embody both a naivety and sophistication that
will appeal to them.
Quibbles and wishes:
When the girls visit a Pow-Wow, it is explained as a dance
competition. It is my understanding that Pow-Wows are a much more complex
cultural event that were once banned by the Canadian government. My wish is
that this could have been somehow incorporated into the book.
Foster left out Fort MacLeod, renowned for its museum of the North
West Coast Mounted Police and especially the Igloo Drive-In, where they serve
the best real soft ice-cream in the province. Seriously, if I am within 50
kilometers of the place, a detour is made to visit it. No one I have ever taken
there has been disapointed.
I've just made sure that all the books in the Amanda series will
be part of our library.
Thanks so much for your review. Amanda and I are pleased you enjoyed the book!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome Darlene! It was a delightful read. Have you ever been to the Igloo Drive In?
DeleteI haven´t but will put it on my list for the next time I´m in the area. I might have to write another book about Alberta as there is so much to see and do there. Someone would like to reblog this review but would like your permission first. How can she reach you?
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