Fire on the Mountain (Orca Echoes)

by Pamela McDowell (Author) Dana Barton (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Orca Echoes

Lightning sparks a forest fire deep in the mountains near the town of Waterton.

Days later, the sky is blue and the air is clear, so it doesn’t seem like an emergency, until crews of firefighters begin to arrive and townspeople start to prepare. Cricket and her friends watch deer and birds flee the forest and run right through town. But what about the slower animals? What about the porcupines and squirrels, the salamanders and snakes? Cricket searches for a way to help until the fire surprises everyone by quickly switching directions and racing towards the town. She hopes that the preparations and the firefighters' experience will be enough to save her home. But what about all the animals she loves? 

This is the fifth title in the Cricket McKay series, following Cougar FrenzyBats in TroubleOspreys in Danger and Salamander Rescue.

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School Library Journal

Gr 1-4--This fifth title in McDowell's early chapter book series was inspired by the Kenow fire of 2017. Eight-year-old Cricket, who is white, lives in Waterton, Alberta, in the middle of the national park. Weather conditions start a fire that endangers the town. As she learns about the fire from her park warden dad, Cricket gathers her brother and friends so they can help before, and during, the eventual evacuation. Without them pooling their talents, buildings would have been damaged, a fawn and porcupine may not have survived, and a group of firefighters from Lethbridge would have gone hungry. Each of the short chapters contains black-and-white illustrations, practical information about fires, and adrenaline-fueled moments that depict Cricket and her town working together against the fire. VERDICT This eye-opening, empowering book will appeal to those who enjoy natural disaster stories, or altruistic readers who want to know how to help keep themselves, their family, their community, and the environment as safe as possible during an emergency.--Tanya Boudreau

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Fast-paced, yet easy to follow...Readers learn how forest fires can start and spread, as well as how animals behave when threatened by forest fires and what people can do in hope of protecting their property. Recommended."— "CM: Canadian Review of Materials"
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781459826144
Lexile Measure
670
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Orca Book Publishers
Publication date
March 15, 2022
Series
Orca Echoes
BISAC categories
JUV001010 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure | Survival Stories
JUV024000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | Country Life
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Brothers and sisters
Animal welfare
Forest fires
Action and adventure fiction
McKay, Cricket

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