Tree Castle Island [Paperback]

Jean Craighead George (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Fourteen-year-old Jack sets out in a handmade canoe for the legendary Okefenokee Swamp. But after several idyllic days of exploring, he's hit with some bad luck. He can't find his way home, and he runs into a hungry alligator who takes a bite out of his canoe. When he pulls up to a remote island, he finds another surprise: a mystery that will reach far into his own past . . . and force him to question the world he's left behind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Combining survival tale, nature study, mystery and legend, Newbery Medalist George (Julie of the Wolves) serves up an ultimately unsatisfying stew. While his parents vacation in Europe, 13-year-old Jack, the narrator, stays on his Uncle Hamp's farm on the St. Mary's River in Georgia. Hamp goes off to help a neighbor for at least a week or two... maybe more, and Jack decides the time is ripe to paddle his homemade canoe to the source of St. Mary's, the great Okefenokee Swamp, and search for the fabled Paradise Island. That Paradise, Jack muses, is a fantasy for most people [but] Uncle Hamp says it's part of a human quest for discovery. When an alligator tears a hole in Jack's canoe, the boy finds himself stranded on a small island, where he becomes acquainted with the wildlife and vegetation, builds himself shelter and forages for food. While George demonstrates her expertise as a naturalist, she relaxes the pacing to such an extent that almost no tension remains in the narrative. Jack, underdeveloped as a character, approaches his adventure with matter-of-fact calm. A puzzle emerges when Jack finds an Airedale that looks just like his own dog, answers to the same name and turns out to belong to another boy, an explorer like Jack, who is revealed to be Jack's identical twin, separated at birth. The factual descriptions of the swamp habitat and the fantastic elements of the plot cancel each other out, collapsing the quasi-mythic underpinnings of this quest for discovery. Final artwork, by George, not seen by PW. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-The Georgia swamp emits a siren's song to 13-year-old Jack, and he sets off alone in the canoe he made himself. When it has an untimely encounter with an alligator, Jack has the perfect excuse to camp in the Okefenokee and test the survival skills he's learned from his Uncle Hamp. While there, a chance meeting puts his knowledge of himself and his family in a whole new light. Jack's survival tale oozes with details of living off the land, from his attempts to gather terpene to his various methods of catching fish and building shelter. The scenes describing the boy's self-sufficiency in the outdoors are reminiscent of Sam Gribley's in My Side of the Mountain (Turtleback, 1959). Jack's experience, however, is limited to a short time, and his skills are largely ready-made for his adventure. A subplot, in which Jack meets a boy who turns out to be his twin and discovers that he is adopted, adds a melodramatic twist that is uncharacteristic of the author. Offering the thrill of independence, an exploration of family and self, and a loving depiction of a specific chunk of nature, this novel will have wide appeal even if it is less magical than George at her best. Despite a few loose ends, it's solid and worthwhile.
Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060002565
• ISBN-13: 978-0060002565
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,844,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jean Craighead George was born in a family of naturalists. Her father, mother, brothers, aunts and uncles were students of nature. On weekends they camped in the woods near their Washington, D.C. home, climbed trees to study owls, gathered edible plants and made fish hooks from twigs. Her first pet was a turkey vulture. In third grade she began writing and hasn't stopped yet. She has written over 100 books.Her book, Julie of the Wolves won the prestigious Newbery Medal, the American Library Association's award for the most distinguished contribution to literature for children, l973. My Side of the Mountain, the story of a boy and a falcon surviving on a mountain together, was a 1960 Newbery Honor Book. She has also received 20 other awards.She attended Penn State University graduating with a degree in Science and Literature. In the 1940s she was a reporter for The Washington Post and a member of the White House Press Corps. After her children were born she returned to her love of nature and brought owls, robins, mink, sea gulls, tarantulas - 173 wild animals into their home and backyard. These became characters in her books and, although always free to go, they would stay with the family until the sun changed their behavior and they migrated or went off to seek partners of their own kind.When her children, Twig, Craig and Luke, were old enough to carry their own backpacks, they all went to the animals. They climbed mountains, canoed rivers, hiked deserts. Her children learned about nature and Jean came home and to write books. Craig and Luke are now environmental scientists and Twig writes children's books, too.One summer Jean learned that the wolves were friendly, lived in a well-run society and communicated with each other in wolf talk -- sound, sight, posture, scent and coloration. Excited to learn more, she took Luke and went to the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska, where scientists were studying this remarkable animal. She even talked to the wolves in their own language. With that Julie of the Wolves was born. A little girl walking on the vast lonesome tundra outside Barrow, and a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park were the inspiration for the characters in the book. Years later, after many requests from her readers, she wrote the sequels, Julie and Julie's Wolf Pack.She is still traveling and coming home to write. In the last decade she has added two beautiful new dimensions to her words beautiful full-color picture book art by Wendell Minor and others and - music. Jean is collaborating with award-winning composer, Chris Kubie to bring the sounds of nature to her words.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Okey-Dokey Okefenokee Story, December 29, 2005

By 

Dwight Blubaugh "MichiBlue" (The only Eaton Rapids on Earth, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tree Castle Island (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)

Having finished reading almost all of Jean Craighead George's 90-some books, I have lots to compare this book to. For reading enjoyment and strength of story, George's book are of uneven quality. However, when it comes to teaching about science, the outdoors, plant and animal life, and ecology, her books can't be beat.

Tree Castle Island is a story that works pretty well in many ways, while not as well in a couple others. In the story, Jack is a 14-year-old boy who is visiting his Uncle Hamp while his parents are in Europe. Hamp lives on the St. Mary's River, one of the two rivers fed by Georgia's massive Okefenokee Swamp, just north of the Florida border (Rand McNally Atlas's Georgia map helped me put the layout of the story in perspective, as the places mentioned in the story are real). While Hamp is away for a couple weeks, leaving Jack by himself, Jack decides to paddle his homemade canoe upriver to explore the Okefenokee, following his "sun daughter" in hopes of finding the long-lost Paradise Island. When an alligator bites a hole into the canvas sealing his canoe, he becomes stranded on an island far out in the Okefenokee. Rather than being upset about this, he's somewhat pleased to be out in the wilderness on his own, and he sees it as a challenge.

At this point, the book becomes almost like a retelling of George's My Side of the Mountain in many ways - Jack needs to use simple tools and nature to live off the land, which he does very successfully with his knowledge of nature. As a story, rather than seeming like a boring rehash of her earlier book, this works well because Jack's in a very different environment than Sam Gribley in My Side of the Mountain (meaning the problems, techniques, and wildlife are different), and because in Tree Castle Island, this process seems a bit more realistic than in parts of My Side of the Mountain - more like what a real 14-year-old could / would actually accomplish.

After Jack gets somewhat settled in on the island, the story begins to exhibit amazing coincidences, straining its credibility greatly - if the reader can overlook these, the story is still quite enjoyable, but I can understand how some readers might be put off by them. As Jack becomes desperate for food, he finds a bear that has just died (still warm), and shortly afterward encounters a dog that looks almost exactly like his and answers to the name of Dizzy, which is also the name of his dog. He finds that the dog belongs to a boy named Jake who is camping on the island, an adopted boy who looks, thinks, and acts just like him. As obvious as it quickly becomes to the reader, it takes the boys quite awhile to figure out that they are identical twins, separated at birth. Jack becomes angry that his parents never told him he was adopted, and uses this as a further reason to drop out of society for awhile and remain on the island with Jake. Working together, the boys quickly construct a multi-part treehouse that would make Robinson Crusoe jealous (their "Tree Castle," mentioned in the title). Later in the story, while he is a hundred miles from his Uncle Hamp's, Jack coincidentally meets Jake's girlfriend, who mistakes him for Jake. All these coincidences can be quite hard to swallow at times. What IS more realistic is when Jack and Jake begin comparing their habits, hobbies, and likes - those readers who have heard about separated twin studies know that genetics can make separated twins turn out to be very similar in many ways, and this story illustrates that well.

Along the way, we learn much about the Okefenokee - George's description is rich and often left me with a clear picture of the swamp. We also learn about the plant and animal life of the area, ways to survive off the land, how to navigate your way out of the swamp if you're lost (find a current and follow it downstream), the history of the swamp and islands (once criss-crossed by railroads seeking lumber and inhabited by settlers), the power of genetics (nature vs. nurture), how to cure chronic diarrhea (which Jack uses to save a sick bear cub from dying - the same simple cure used in African nations where diarrhea has been a leading killer of babies), and many other lessons. If you try to imagine a wilderness survival guide (such as Jean's older twin brothers, Frank and John Craighead, wrote for the military during WWII), written as a children's novel, Tree Castle Island would meet this description fairly well. George did a great job fitting SO much story and information into so few pages. Anything lacking in the "story" aspect of this book is more than made up for by its other elements.

If you know of a young reader who has an interest in science and nature, steering them into Jean C. George's books is certain to further their interest immensely - it would not be a stretch to say it might well even influence their educational / career path. Start asking around, as I have, and you'll be amazed at how many people read and loved My Side of the Mountain and / or other JCG books while growing up. With one or more books published almost every year since 1948, it's hard to overstate what a tremendous impact George has had on children's literature and generations of readers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A survival story in the tradition of MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, May 18, 2002

By 

Isabel Harding (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tree Castle Island (Hardcover)

I had been waiting a long time for the release of the newest novel by Jean Craighead George for several reasons. One, I have been an avid reader of her books for a long time, two, it had been 3 years since she had published a novel, and three, the new book took place in my homeland of Georgia; to be more exact, the setting is the spectacular Okefenokee Swamp just north of the Georgia-Florida border. I was not disappointed. TREE CASTLE ISLAND is very special. It is an intriguing book that has similarities to some classic adventure stories, while other aspects of it are fresher and broader. In it, we meet a 14-year-old boy, Jack, who loves the outdoors, even though he lives in the big, busy city of Atlanta. It is a treat for Jack to be able to visit his Uncle Hamp while his parents are in Europe. Hamp, too, likes nature and allows Jack to be indepedent. Soon Jack has fashioned a handsome homemade canoe he calls "L'tle Possum", and he sets out to do some exploring in the great habitat surrounding Uncle Hamp's home. In a short time Jack (and the reader, too) has become enchanted with the vast Okefenokee. When an accident damages "L'tle Possum", Jack must learn to fend for himself on an island. Like Sam Gribley from the beloved MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN trilogy, Jack is a strong, industrious teenager. While most kids might give up hope in such a predicament, Jack quickly takes control, turning the island into a liveable home. While on the island, he makes some new animal friends--including a dog named Dizzy who looks strangely familiar--and discovers some bizarre mysteries. There are clues that there is other life hanging around the island besides Jack; it's evident in the strange cries that echo throughout the swamp, the debris scattered around camp, and the odd behavior of Dizzy. Then, one day, Jack meets a kid just like him; looks just like him, acts just like him, and thinks just like him, even has a name (Jake) like his! Slowly the boys come to realize that they must be long-lost twins. Frustrated with his parents for never telling him he was adopted, or that he had an identical brother, Jack decides to remain on the island with Jake. The boys turn their camp into a paradise that any nature lover would envy, complete with a house in the trees, wild animals for companions, and catfish and plants for food. The sights, sounds, and life of the swamp are wonderfully weaved into the plot, and even with such a unique situation, the realistic side of the story is never lost. The book is moderately paced, rising to a gripping climax toward the end. It makes a great read for people who are passionate about the swamplands or who, like me, would enjoy learning more about it. I have lived in Georgia ten years and with TREE CASTLE ISLAND I still learned a great deal about the nearby Okefenokee and the people, wildlife, and legends of this state. That's one of the great things about the books of Jean Craighead George--you learn something, or many new things, in each story. If you enjoyed this book I would recommend MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, a 1959 Newbery Honor book that helps to prove that even after so long, Ms. George's adventure books have not lost their touch, and its sequels, ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN and FRIGHTFUL'S MOUNTAIN. Each book gives a descriptive account of living as a beneficiary and a part of nature, sort of, Thoreau for kids. THE TALKING EARTH is a beautiful book about a girl who, like Jack, paddles out into another place of trees, grass and water, the Everglades. Also check out a stunning picture book called EVERGLADES, illustrated by Wendell Minor, the prolific artist who did the captivating cover of TREE CASTLE ISLAND (the team also have a great new picture book out, entitled CLIFF HANGER). Read any one of Ms. George's stunning books--whether a survival story like TREE CASTLE ISLAND, a picture book like EVERGLADES, or an epic like the JULIE OF THE WOLVES trilogy--and you are sure to be dazzled by your new knowledge and understanding of a natural treasure.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Adventure Marred by Outdated Views of Adoption, September 13, 2004

By 

A. Weiss (Half Moon Bay, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tree Castle Island (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book to my 10 year-old son until I read ahead to the ending. I was shocked to see how the author, Craighead George, presented adoption. My son and daughter are both adopted in open adoptions, but reading about adoption in Tree Castle Island is like going back to the 1960s. Adoption is presented as a shameful secret. There is a lot of emphasis on how the adopted kids look nothing like the adoptive parents, how they only share real and important things with their "real" siblings and "real" parents--not the adoptive parents. Frankly, I won't be finishing this book with my kid because it's almost harmful in the way it addresses adoption. If you have adopted kids, you may want to skip this book.