Something
New–A Trio of Adventures for Kids
Kids On A Mission: Escape From Germany by Sian Bessey, 183 pages
Kevin Kirk Chronicles: My Mom’s A Mortician by Patricia Wiles, 249 pages
Latter-Day Spies: Spyhunt by Michele Ashman Bell, 187 pages
Published
by Covenant Communications, Inc., $7.95
Reviewed
by Jennie Hansen
Three
new adventure series on the LDS market are capturing the
attention of the elementary-to-middle school age group.
All three are fun adventures that even parents will enjoy.
The three series were launched during the summer, and already
the second round is in the works. All three are fun adventures
with LDS settings and standards.
Escape from Germany by Sian
Bessey
is
a time travel flashback that sends a brother/sister duo
of missionaries back to Germany at the beginning of World
War II, just in time to get caught up in the recall of missionaries
from that country. Eleven-year-old Emily and nine-year-old
Matt live behind the MTC in Provo. One day while pursuing
a ball lost over the fence onto the MTC grounds, Matt discovers
a strange blue light coming from beneath the door of a shed.
He goes after the ball and his sister goes after him. Curiosity
draws them toward the mysterious light and a mission call
neither is expecting.
Bessey’s characters are realistic kids, not miniature adults.
The story is fast paced and entertaining, but also teaches
an excellent lesson on faith without becoming preachy.
The background events are historically accurate and paint
a vivid picture of the fear and confusion that gripped those
with compelling reasons to leave a country on the verge
of war. Bessey’s own European background shows in her depiction
of a country and characters caught up in uncertainty. Her
back ground as a mother of five children lends authenticity
to her young heroes’ speech and reactions.
With
a title like My Mom’s a Mortician,
a reader might expect this to be a humorous book. But Patricia
Wiles mid-reader is more a coming-of-age or “growing up”
book than a comedy, though it is certainly full of peculiar
situations. Kevin Kirk, a seventh grader, is an unlikely
hero. He is a quiet boy who resists change, is easily embarrassed,
hears only what he wants to hear, has few friends, and lives
upstairs in a mortuary. He is expected to play an adult
role in the family, even though he is treated like a baby.
No wonder he’s confused and often resentful. He wears suits
and greets visitors to the mortuary, vacuums the funeral
home carpets, and stocks the soft drink machine. He keeps
a journal of the wildlife that visits the funeral home’s
back yard and tries to dodge the town bully. His best friend
is a girl, Dani, and my favorite character in the book.
Kevin’s parents aren’t exactly prime examples of responsible
adulthood, but they love each other and him, and the three
of them muddle through. And, oh yes, Kevin carries a purple
worm in his pocket and talks to his school principal’s grandfather,
Cletus McCulley, who happens to be dead.
Michele
Ashman Bell’s Spyhunt will likely appeal to
the more sophisticated youth readers (mostly fifth and sixth
graders). It features eleven-year-old twins, Seth and Sadie
Fletcher. Because they are children of the U.S. Ambassador
to Germany, the book has a definite international flavor.
Seth and Sadie and their best friends Markus and Gabi have
a favorite game that takes them all over Frankfurt in a
pursuit they call spyhunt. When Fami, the son of a former
Indian ambassador who was killed by a lightening strike
while hiking in the Alps, arrives for an indefinite visit,
the twins think their game and all their summer fun are over.
Fami is blind, so how can he possibly play spyhunt? Fami
not only proves he can play their games, but he’s just as
clever as Seth at performing magic tricks.
Their
game turns serious when they discover someone is watching
them. They learn Fami’s visit isn’t just an innocent vacation,
and real criminals are after them. It takes all of their
skill, quick wit, and magic tricks to stay ahead in this
deadly game.
All
three books are well written with strong story lines and
imaginative Latter-day Saint children as the lead characters.
Escape from Germany and Spyhunt
are both packed with action and danger. In both books,
the children turn to prayer in seeking strength and inspiration
to deal with the traumatic events they face. In Escape
from Germany there’s some time travel involved,
and in My Mom’s a Mortician Kevin gets a few
promptings he assumes comes from the deceased Cletus even
though there is no overt dependence on the paranormal to
carry the story. The young protagonists solve their dilemmas
by using their own reasoning and by depending on the lifelong
training they’ve received from loving parents. Spyhunt
is definitely the most intense of the three books, and
though both Seth and Fami are amateur magicians there is
absolutely no paranormal, occult, or wizardly overtone to
the story. Their magic tricks are good and the directions
for performing the tricks are included in the story line.
Readers will have fun amazing their friends when they try
these tricks for themselves.
From
the popular mass paperback size of the books, to the fun,
colorful covers, and on to the large size print in the ones
intended for younger readers, these books are designed to
appeal to young readers. I suspect these books and the
sequels which are bound to follow will fill a need that
appears between picture books and young adult novels. An
adherence to LDS standards in this new level of LDS fiction
will make the books appealing to parents, but it is the
exciting, well written adventures themselves that make them difficult for
their intended audience to put down.
