Tuesday, May 12

Rescue on the Oregon Trail

Rescue on the Oregon Trail
(Ranger in Time #1)
Written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Kelley McMorris

My rating: ★★★★

ISBN: 978-0545639149
Publisher: Scholastic
Date of publication: January 6, 2015
Age: Grades 2 - 5
Genre: Historical Fiction

Themes: pioneers, 19th century, search & rescue, time travel, golden retriever

Ranger almost passed the test to be a search & rescue dog but—SQUIRREL!—sometimes he's distracted. But one day, after a good squirrel chase, he digs up an old mysterious first aid kit in the garden. Suddenly, he's transported to the year 1850! There he meets Sam Abbott and his family (who are migrating west on the Oregon Trail) and arrives just in time to help the boy save his little sister. Ranger thinks his job is done, but the Oregon Trail can be dangerous, and the Abbotts need Ranger's help more than they realize!

Educational and full of adventure, this is a new series to give the kids who love Magic Tree House—especially those who also love dogs. Ranger really is an endearing and fun character, and Messner has some fun telling the story from his dogged (pun intended) point of view. The other characters were not quite as in-depth or as exciting as I may have hoped, but they get the job done. It's also a bit hard to fit an entire 5-month, 2000-mile journey into 125-page book. But for its target age group, this book is pretty good. I'd recommend it for sure.

Find it at your library or on Amazon

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