From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4–Axel, who lives in the Teton Mountains, wants to go snowboarding after a fresh snow. The boy, his father, and Grits the dog head up to Glory Bowl to check the conditions and determine if it is safe. They meet Kelly, the captain of the school snowboarding team, and the youngsters begin to show off their moves. When a bird sets off an avalanche below them, it is up to Grits to cut her off from the danger. Minor's realistic illustrations are packed with action. Bright colors and varying textures depict the crisp outdoor setting. More confident readers will enjoy this well-written story independently. Featuring a popular sport, it also makes a strong addition to picture-book collections.–Rebecca Luhman, Greece Central School District, Rochester, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 1-4. George and Minor use the setting of snowboarding season for a lesson in physical science, showing the effect of snowfall in the Teton Mountains: how the layers of new and old snow interact, and how avalanches are made, and how they can be predicted and directed. There is a story here, too, and the cast includes young Axel; his dog, Grits; his father, Dag, who is a snow patrol officer; and Kelly, Axel's snowboarding rival. Axel puts Kelly in danger by not listening to the snow-warning sights and sounds, but Grits helps rescue her. Apparently none the worse for their close call, children, dog, and father go off to snowboard down the mountain. Minor's natural style and his clear rich colors--the blues, greens, and icy whites of the Tetons-- are the right accompaniment, and Grits is as cute as critters come. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
School Library Journal
"a strong addition to picture–book collections"
Book Description
It's snowboarding season in the Teton Mountains, and the snow at Glory Bowl is fresh. But as Axel and his father, Dag, well know, new snow settling on top of old snow can also mean the risk of an avalanche. While Dag surveys the landscape for signs of danger, Axel and his snowboarding rival, Kelly, rashly begin showing off their moves,until ... Whoomph! Crack! Bang! A fast-moving snowslide suddenly takes shape. Axel, his dog, Grits, and Kelly must all act very quickly to avoid disaster.
In the third book of the Outdoor Adventures series, celebrated nature writer Jean Craighead George and award-winning artist Wendell Minor create a gripping account of the awesome wonder and potential peril of an avalanche.
About the Author
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in a family of naturalists, Jean George has centered her life around writing and nature. She attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with degrees in English and science. In the 1940s she was a member of the White House press corps and a reporter for the Washington Post. Ms. George, who has written over 90 books - among them My Side of the Mountain (Dutton), a 1960 Newbery Honor Book, and its sequels On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain (both Dutton) - also hikes, canoes, and makes sourdough pancakes. In 1991, Ms. George became the first winner of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association's Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature, which was presented to her for the "consistent superior quality" of her literary works. Her inspiration for the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves evolved from two specific events during a summer she spent studying wolves and tundra at the Arctic Research Laboratory of Barrow, Alaska: "One was a small girl walking the vast ad lonesome tundra outside of Barrow; the other was a magnificent alpha male wolf, leader of a pack in Denali National Park ... They haunted me for a year or more, as did the words of one of the scientists at the lab: 'If there ever was any doubt in my mind that a man could live with the wolves, it is gone now. The wolves are truly gentlemen, highly social and affectionate.'" The mother of three children, Jean George is a grandmother who has joyfully red to her grandchildren since they were born. Over the years Jean George has kept 173 pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn, when the sun changes their behavior and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."
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