Abduction! (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [Library Binding]

Peg Kehret (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Thirteen-year-old Bonnie has a feeling of foreboding on the very day that her six-year-old brother Matt and their dog Pookie are abducted, and she becomes involved in a major search effort as well as a frightening adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–Matt, a kindergartener, meets his 13-year-old half sister every day after school for the ride home. When he fails to show up, Bonnie immediately notifies his teacher and principal, and a full-scale search ensues. Even though Matt has been taught "stranger danger," he is lured into the kidnapper's car with his own dog, stolen from his house. The kidnapper is the boy's father, whom he has never met, and who tells Matt that his mother and sister are dead. So even though the boy knows his phone number, he doesn't try to call. The story portrays a kidnapper's determination and the ease with which a child can be swayed by a stranger despite years of teaching. The novel also does a good job of incorporating modern-day search techniques, such as an Amber Alert, and explaining their use. The plot stretches a bit when Bonnie spots her brother at a Seattle Mariners game, but it does make for a suspenseful ending as she also becomes a victim. The story is resolved happily but with a twist showing the remorse of the people who could have helped along the way but didn't for various reasons. This novel has enough suspense to keep children interested, and it will also appeal to reluctant readers.–Diana Pierce, Running Brushy Middle School, Cedar Park, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. When 13-year-old Bonnie's younger brother and dog disappear, she and her mother experience all the fear, police attention, and media notoriety that often results from such tragedies. Meanwhile, six-year-old Matt is held captive by Denny, his bad-tempered father whom he has never met. Denny cruelly tells Matt that his mother and sister are dead, so the boy abandons hope. The coincidence of Bonnie's spotting Matt at a Mariners game leads to an exciting, movie-style climax. This quick read, which accurately reflects that most missing children are either abducted by relatives or run away, effectively builds suspense as the police make progress and Matt grows increasingly afraid of his gun-toting father. The fact that the characters are largely one-dimensional, especially the villainous Denny, mutes the emotional angst readers might have felt, leaving them free to enjoy the plot-driven thriller with a happy ending. Kathleen Odean
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Library Binding: 215 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417734914
• ISBN-13: 978-1417734917
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,892,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've published 45 books; all but two are for children. I wrote magazine articles, short stories, and plays for many years before I discovered that what I like best is to write books for kids.
When I was twelve, I was paralyzed with polio. I made almost a full recovery but I remember that time of my life so clearly that it's easy for me to write from the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen-year-old.
I'm always thrilled when one of my books wins a state young reader award, because I know those awards are voted on by children.
I am a widow who was married for 48 years. I have two grown children and four grandchildren. I live on a small wildlife sanctuary near Mt. Rainier National Park and I often have deer and elk in my yard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to Real-Life Suspense for Young Readers, March 17, 2007

By 

Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abduction! (Paperback)

ABDUCTION is an excellent suspense novel with a lot of good information about what families go through and can do in the event of an abduction. Peg Kehret combines a tremendous amount of facts throughout the tense narrative, such as the fact that most kidnapped children are taken by non-custodial parents and how an Amber alert works.

But the story is the real draw here. Matt, a kindergartener, goes missing from his school. His kidnapper is his biological father, a man he's never laid eyes on. Denny Thurman, Matt's dad, is a gambling addict whose latest scheme involves "borrowing" money from his sister and brother-in-law to raise his son.

Thirteen-year-old Bonnie, Matt's sister, gets caught up in the search for her little brother. Kehret pulls the reader into Bonnie's world, sharing her helplessness and frustration as well as the sharp fear that fills her.

The pacing is frantic as the reader flips back and forth between the scenes involving Bonnie, Matt, the kidnapper, and a few extra characters (like the elderly couple that finds the abandoned family dog, Pookie, and decides to take him home).

The climax of the book is exciting and uses a lot of the Seattle setting shown in the novel. Bonnie is a true heroine, but she's not of the Wonder Woman variety. She uses her wits and her heart, and stands her ground with the kidnapper to protect her little brother.

ABDUCTION is a great read to share with a pre-teen or even to be read to an aggressive third- or fourth-grader who likes being read to. My son and I enjoyed this book a lot, but some of the tense scenes made him nervous. He couldn't stop thinking about Matt and his situation until we turned the last page. More than that, he knows more about Stranger Danger and that there are a lot of agencies that look for missing children.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abduction!, June 27, 2005

By 

J. Best (Graham, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abduction! (Hardcover)

I read this book to my class of 5th grade students, and we loved it. When it came time to stop reading each day, my students would beg me to continue reading. We did not want to put the book down. Almost all of my students voted Abduction their favorite book at the end of the year.

Not only is this a wonderful story to get kids excited about reading, it also naturally brings up some issues that children are thinking about. We talked about safety issues related to being abducted and making decisions and how they impact our lives. There was a scene that also stimulated a discussion on alcohol and kids.

For students living in Washington State, it was fun to read about the Mariners and Safeco field and other landmarks in our area. We could picture everything so clearly from the descriptive writing.

Peg Kehret's books are always appropriate for the classroom, and the children love her stories.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read you child will ENJOY!, July 11, 2006

By 

D. Doleh "D. Doleh" (Warwick, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abduction! (Hardcover)

In this day and age...no mater how you drill into your kids the stranger danger phrase, you just never know. As a mom, I was introduced to this book by our library who did a book discussion group for grades 6-8. What an EXCELLENT choice! It's a fiction title that can educate your child as to the dangers of child abduction, and how easily a child can be tricked. I used it as an indepth topic of discussion across the dinner table with my 10 + 11yr old boys....and that sparked the 6yr old's attn as well.

Buy this book for your kids...discuss what's going on in the book as they read. Use the topic to educate them -I know that by just reading this book my kids are now safer than they were before...thanks to the author for writing a suspensful and timely book that kids will enjoy reading!