September is here! I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling it. We're smack dab in the middle of that heat dome and have several days of around 100 degrees still this week. While I'm irritated that I can't start reaching for my morning sweater, yet, my poor cows are beginning to stare at the grass as it dies around them. I'm just hoping rain pops its head in for a few minutes soon, or it might be time to start 'haying' (bringing hay bales out to the cows). Which is also fine. I'm just whining. We've had wonderful harvests the last two years, but still.... That means starting up the tractor, driving out hay, fighting off Ms. Red as she tries to head-butt the bale while my little tractor is bringing it into position. That fun usually doesn't start until late October.
Enough complaining?
That's why I'm ready to start off the month with some mystery fun. I'm not sure if this one hits the fantasy/scifi direction or not...if there is a real mammoth? But either way, it look like this pair is up to all sorts of antics. Plus, there's the cows staring in each corner. My cows appreciate that.
So, let's open this one up and see what's inside!
DOMINIC BEAN AND THE MAMMOTH MELT
by Emilie Christie Burack
Groundwood Books
Middle Grade Mystery
275 pages
ages 8 to 12
At first, twelve-year-old Dominic Bean is not happy when he and his sister are “dumped” with eccentric relatives on a New Hampshire cattle farm while their scientist parents work on a secret project in the Canadian Arctic. Coping with what he sees as parental abandonment, plus the pressure of bullies, schoolwork and wrangling Harriet (a stubborn pregnant Highlander cow with long, sharp horns) bring out the worst in Dom.
But the sleepy farm turns out to be full of surprises. A developer is trying to buy the Bean family land to build an Arctic-themed amusement park under a plastic dome. Dom’s nemesis at school, Edith, turns out to have a way with Harriet. And reading his dad’s old journal leads Dom to an ancient woolly mammoth tusk that his father once found in the farm’s bog.
Dom learns that his jam-making aunt and whiskey-distilling uncle are in fact in cahoots with his parents on a secret project in the old milking barn — a project that, if successful, will “de-extinct” the woolly mammoth and possibly help save the planet.
MY TIDBITS
With Bean involved, chaos is guaranteed, but then, his entire family packs surprises.
Dominic Bean is anything but thrilled with his life. After he and his sister have been left in the middle of nowhere with his farm-happy aunt while his scientist parents work on their top secret project somewhere else, nothing is working out anymore. Even his teacher is out to get him as she refuses to answer his questions during class. The pent-up frustration ends with a flying canteen, which places him in suspension for the last week of school before summer break. But all of that is forgotten when a suspicious, black car heads toward his crazy uncle's farm. He's sure his uncle is in huge legal trouble, but there's so much more brewing than that. Someone is trying to buy the land to build an amusement park. And if that wasn't insane enough, Bean has reason to believe that his parents, aunt, and uncle are up to something huge...physically huge. And extinct. Even Bean can't believe it when he finds himself teamed up with his latest arch-enemy, the girl who might have been the target of that canteen, to see if they can figure everything out.
There is never a boring moment in these pages, but then, Dominic Bean is a whirlwind to be reckoned with. While he's very much a normal kid on many fronts, his hyper-active curiosity makes him a trouble-maker but with tons of heart. Each character packs personality, and this adds tons of energy and surprises. Bean's many questions also open up to the mystery, which will keep readers guessing at what the truth behind everything is. Then, there's the imaginative front as his parents are definitely working on the far edge of possibility. It's a fun balance of what-ifs and inspires. There's also action, tension, and more than a little humor. Add the deeper themes such as forming friendships, family relationships, and even global warming, and there is a lot to enjoy and dive into.
The writing keeps this fun and light...just like Bean's personality. Even more reluctant readers will enjoy the zaniness mixed with the quick pacing. It's an enjoyable read from beginning to end.
And here they are...
EMILIE CHRISTIE BURACK’s debut novel, The Runaway’s Gold, was a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People and a winner of the New England Book Festival. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in New Hampshire, where she is the co-founder of the New Hampshire Book Festival.
ANNA BRON is an illustrator and animation director based in Vancouver, BC. She has worked on Emmy- and Oscar-nominated projects and illustrated award-winning books, including The Five Sides of Marjorie Rice by Amy Alznauer and Salma the Syrian Chef by Danny Ramadan.
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