Customer Reviews

A Place for Delta (Animal Stories Childrensya)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Place for Delta is indeed a rare treat. It is a collaboration between a mother and son - the authoress being the mother and the illustrator being the son. The text relates an intriguing story that keeps one wanting to read the next chapter until the very end. The illustrations are woodblocks that supplement the text beautifully.

The book itself appeals to adults and children alike. It speaks of ultimately finding "A Place" for an orphaned bear, Delta, but there is much more to it than that relatively simple story line. It's about those involved in this process finding "their" Place rescuing a bear in Alaska and eventually defining a home for it in the mountains of north Georgia. But it is also about joy, sorrow, commitment, love and taking risks. It is about developing a concern for our precious earth and acting upon it. It defines some of the adversaries to this process and their having to face justice.

I think that we all spend most our our lives defining "A Place" for ourselves on this fragile earth. It is a continual commitment - something that this book helps us understand.

I recommend it for "adult" reading and reading to children - though be warned - it is hard to just read a bit of this wonderful book and wait for that next chapter tomorrow night.

This is a heartwarming story with an adorable polar bear cub and plenty of mystery and adventure for any young reader. I enjoyed the smooth flow of dialogue; the book is easy to read and totally wraps you up in the plot-a real page turner. The glossary at the back of the book is a plus because it describes new words relating to the story about the arctic tundra and all things scientific that are informative and useful. I highly recommend A Place For Delta especially for kids age 9-12 who love animals. - Review by N.C., 16 yrs old, Biblio Reads Children's Book Review

A Place for Delta is a beautifully written and touching book. We read a few pages of it to our three-year-old each night, and soon we found ourselves reading further ahead on our own. Melissa Walker has crafted a heartwarming and timely tale that will awaken in young people (and their parents) a love for polar bears and all wild creatures. It is suspenseful, lyrical, fun, and engaging. It's truly a page turner. It is also incredibly well researched with great attention to detail, yet simple and direct enough for the young reader to grasp. It was selected for an International Book Award, and Walker has developed some captivating characters that readers of all ages can relate to. Delta's journey highlights the importance of protecting wild creatures and their babitats, but the message is embedded in an exciting and adventurous tale.

To take care of a polar bear cub seems crazy, but people who would actively seek its death seem crazier. "A Place for Delta" tells the story of Joseph, a man who travels to Barrow, Alaska to help his aunt care for an orphaned polar bear cub. But the strange endeavor only becomes more interesting when danger seems to waiting for Delta, the cub, at every turn. "A Place for Delta" is a fascinating read of Alaska, polar bars, and adventure.

Eleven-year-old Joseph Morse has received an email from his aunt Kate, who lives in Barrow, Alaska, inviting him to a research station to help take care of a polar bear cub named Delta. While there he makes friends with an Eskimo girl and uncovers a conspiracy that could threaten the life of Delta and others. There's a mystery to solve and an adventure to be had. The book is clearly written from the perspective on an environmentalist with deep convictions and spans multiple generations to deliver an exciting story. It is also the 2010 International Best Book Award Winner for Children's Fiction. You should definitely check it out A Place for Delta.

Cover:

While the cover (and the interior) has some cool illustrations, I wish they were a tad lighter. It would show more detail in the illustrations and make the cover pop a bit more.

About the Story:

This story looks very simple from far. A group of people try to find "a place" for Delta (a polar bear). Which in itself sounds like a good heartwarming story. However, this story pushes us into thinking about the process of how we have found, or are still looking for, "a place" for ourselves. Every age group reading this book can come away with something. YA's can read on how others their age have discovered who they are and how they overcame obstacles, while parents can read how giving children some freedom can only help them in gaining confidence in themselves and their future decisions.

Along with this, readers can begin to appreciate just what goes into keeping our environment cycling. We get to learn how one small action affects everything around us (and around Delta). It was presented in a really well thought out way, where we don't realize we are learning about environmental issues, but come out of it with a new appreciation of nature.

Overall:

I would recommend this book to YA's, especially those loving nature and "coming to oneself" stories.

The story opens with Ben and Kate, the newest residents (with their mother) arriving in Georgia to their new home on the cusp of wilderness. Ben and Kate spend the first few chapters exploring their new world, understanding the boundaries between civilization and the wild, and forging new friendships with a local veterinarian and daughter.

The next scenes occur with Ben and Kate grown, Ben married and father to an 11 year old son who is just as curious and nature loving as his father. By this time Kate has become a researcher in the Alaskan wilderness when she is greeted by a surprise resident; a polar cub. With the help of her nephew, Joseph, she is able to care for the baby cub as intrigue is soon introduced. Someone is purposely killing the polar bears, hence, Delta's orphaned state. Joseph and his new friend, Ada, a native Alaskan decide to solve this mystery.

Dr. Melissa Walker writes this book with a conservatory slant as she explores the threats to nature in the Alaskan tundra (man encroaching and man's greed) while preserving a solid, well written story that will appeal to the target age group audience - ages 9-12.

Being in the business of public education, a title I love to throw out to add weight to opinion, I love the book.

More importantly, I happen to be in the business of raising four amazing and distinct children, I appreciate the simple language yet not condescending. Children will appreciate the adventure, the mystery, the friendships, and the new scenery. The author introduces a valuable resource on preserving the earth, the magical sense of discovering life of different shapes, sizes, and molecular make up.

Let me clarify. I am not a tree hugger. I am not opposed to oil drilling. I am not prepared to desecrate the wilderness and destroy animal and plant life beyond all recognition but I wanted to clarify my belief system before I type the next sentence.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is new with excellent research to strengthen the story and provides latency age children with not only a good read, but an education, albeit sneaky. I'm not opposed to this path. I already know my children ARE tree huggers and will be pursuing education and work opportunities in botany and biology.

With my public educator persona and parent persona firmly in agreement, I can honestly recommend this book to school reading book circles with no qualms. It is meaningful, realistic, and empowering for a latency age child.

Joseph can hardly believe what he has been asked to do. His Aunt Kate is waiting for him at a research station and needs help taking care of an orphaned polar bear cub only a few months old. He will leave his friends and family and venture to the farthest northern town in the United States: Barrow, Alaska.

As the adventure unfolds, Joseph and his new found Eskimo friend Ada find mysteries wherever they look. The bear cub, Delta, remains in danger. Who would want a polar bear dead? Joseph will have to look to the North Georgia woods and his family to save Delta.

When his parents were kids, they too embarked on an excursion into the unknown. Their encounters with the wilderness beyond their backyard have molded the future for Joseph and Delta. A Place for Delta is about one family's journey--a passage born in the Appalachian mountains and leading to the Arctic.

Review:

I really looked forward to reading "A Place for Delta", since it was based in Barrow, Alaska (my uncle lived there for a while). The writing is simple and clear , though repetitive it seemed in a few places in the storyline. This may have been due to the level the book is written for, which is the pre-teen age level (9-13yrs old). I enjoyed the wilderness protection awareness the author, Melissa Walker, surrounds the story with. From Joseph learning about animal protection to the land protection from oilmen, the story mesmerizes you in the rural Alaskan landscape and lifestyle. The author keeps your interest peaked by the adventure Joseph and Ada (the local Alaskan girl Joseph befriends) have in helping solve a mystery. By using secret note taking and 'tailing' a suspect, the two of them are an important assets to tracking down the bad guys!

Now, there were adults in the book too..I don't want to leave them out. I loved how the adult parents let their children explore and find things out for themselves, by being protective, but not overprotective. My feeling is that these days parents don't get their kids outside to explore more! and go with them!!

Overall, this was an enjoyable and fun read that I would really recommend for kids and adults alike! After reading the book, it makes me want to go Alaska more than I already did!!

Melissa Walker spins decades of experience lobbying for wilderness protection on a national scale into an intimate story of one boy's encounter with a wild polar bear in need of protection. The narrative is fast paced, readable, informative, and accurately depicts the complexity of critical environmental issues such as habitat destruction and global climate change. Adults and adolescents alike will enjoy reading this book. As the first in a series starring Joseph and his endangered charge, A Place for Delta will no doubt launch for many families a long-term relationship with reading about our most pressing environmental issues. Can't wait to see what else Whale Tale Press brings to the literary marketplace!

A national voice for preservation of wild places, Dr. Melissa Walker accomplishes something rare in A Place for Delta: she conveys her knowledge and passion for the environment within the context of a powerful story. Instead of being bored by biology, young readers will identify with the young protagonist Joseph, who must learn about nature in order to solve a mystery. Delta entices young detectives with animal tracks that must be identified, a code that must be deciphered, and a sniper who must be investigated through undercover sleuthing. The book offers even more; it touches on themes of friendship, family connections, and hard work.It allows the reader to glimpse two of the world's beautiful landscapes that Walker knows well: North Georgia and Alaska. Several of the book's characters use their knowledge and dedication to help save a small polar bear and his threatened environment. Readers who finish A Place for Delta will have savored a good story and just might want to help change the world.