Synopses & Reviews
When Axel and his family take a rafting trip down the swift Salmon River, they sense little risk when smoke appears in the quiet, dry wilderness. Suddenly, orange flames flash dangerously near, and Axel isn't so sure of their safety anymore. Before long, they are caught in a blazing forest and must search for a safe hideout. Will Axel and his family make the right call before the roaring fire gets too close?
In this second story about the adventures of Axel, acclaimed nature writer Jean Craighead George and award-winning artist Wendell Minor recount the riveting tale of a fearsome fire storm and the cycle of regeneration that follows.
Synopsis
Axel, along with his aunt and uncle and dog, Grits, are on the river-kayaking adventure of a lifetime. But when flames suddenly flash dangerously near, Axel knows his family is in trouble. Before long, they are caught in a blazing fire storm and need to find a shelter where they can wait out the fire safely. For young outdoor adventurers, nature lovers, and thrill seekers alike, Jean Craighead George and Wendell Minor tell the exciting tale--based on a true story--of a fearsome forest fire and the gentle cycle of regeneration that follows.
About the Author
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in a family of naturalists, Jean George has centered her life around writing and nature. She attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with degrees in English and science. In the 1940s she was a member of the White House press corps and a reporter for the
Washington Post. Ms. George, who has written over 90 books - among them
My Side of the Mountain (Dutton), a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, and its sequels
On the Far Side of the Mountain and
Frightful's Mountain (both Dutton) - also hikes, canoes, and makes sourdough pancakes. In 1991, Ms. George became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature, which was presented to her for the "consistent superior quality" of her literary works.
Her inspiration for the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves evolved from two specific events during a summer she spent studying wolves and tundra at the Arctic Research Laboratory of Barrow, Alaska: "One was a small girl walking the vast ad lonesome tundra outside of Barrow; the other was a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park ... They haunted me for a year or more, as did the words of one of the scientists at the lab: 'If there ever was any doubt in my mind that a man could live with the wolves, it is gone now. The wolves are truly gentlemen, highly social and affectionate.'"
The mother of three children, Jean George is a grandmother who has joyfully red to her grandchildren since they were born. Over the years Jean George has kept 173 pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn, when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."