Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick is a fast paced juvenile fiction book, good for a 4-6th grade reader.
As flames race toward Sam’s summer camp in northern Maine, evacuation buses are filling and everyone is racing to get out. Worried that his mom won’t be able to reach him without his phone, Sam hurries back to his cabin where he is suddenly cut off by flames. All Sam can do is run for his life–run or die.
Sam only knows he has to keep moving, so when he runs into a girl from a nearby camp, the join forces and run, keeping one step ahead of the fire. But where are they going? And more importantly does anyone know they are alive?
Oh man, this book is like a speeding train from the moment you open the cover. Seriously, I was almost put off by just how quickly we get into the action. Worried about hooking your young reader… well don’t be. This one never slows down; it starts fast and it ends fast.
One of the things I liked most about this book was that Sam and Delphy both put on brave faces but only because adrenaline forces them to do so. They are scared out of their minds and it shows, but playing off each other and the situation makes them braver.
My only hesitation to recommending this one to everyone is that because of the subject matter and because of how fast paced it is, there is almost this anxiety the reader gets as they read and I’d be afraid our more sensitive readers could get scared.
For the curious reader, there is an afterword about forest fires and safety tips on one of America’s deadliest natural disasters.
This one gets 4 stars from me and would make a great companion to a lesson plan on forest fires or natural disasters.
That’s all for now!
-M-