Garbage Creek: And Other Stories [Paperback]

W. D. Valgardson (Author), Michel Bisson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998 | Age Level: 8 and up

Filled with realistic dialogue and evocatively detailed settings, these stories engage kids with situations they can relate to and care about--coping with people different than oneself, protecting the environment, finding the money to buy the things one wants, caring for animals, adapting to new environments.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888993390
• ISBN-13: 978-0888993397
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,143,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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