by Jane Leslie Conly

Trout Summer. 

New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1995.

             When their father leaves the family, Shana and Cody move with their mom to Maryland.   Over the summer, the three of them stay in a cabin along the Leanna River.  While their mom is at work, the kids explore the surrounding wilderness, eventually meeting a man who calls himself the ranger.  Little by little, the children learn from this older man about his passions: canoeing, trout, and clean water.

Good Points:

• Adventure story!
• Contains a strong message about trout, clean water, and the importance of our environment.
• Interesting plot, human characters.

Other Notes:

• Sensitively addresses the challenges of aging (for teens and seniors) and portrays the struggle of a family changed by divorce.
• The old man swears (mildly), just a little.
• The kids are left unsupervised a lot and do fairly dangerous things.