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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 12. . . . February 13, 2004
excerpt:
Billy's class is learning about food chains. When Billy is asked to find out about the polar bear's food chain for homework, he looks forward to using his new CD-ROM called "The Frozen North." That evening while Billy's family is eating supper, they hear on the TV news that a huge oil spill has occurred in the Arctic. The news shows lots of arctic seals, birds and polar bears that have been affected by the environmental disaster. Also that evening, while a sleepy Billy tries to do his homework, Lorel, the bear from his CD-ROM arrives in his bedroom. Lorel has come to talk to Billy about food chains and the oil spill. Poor Lorel is covered in smelly black oil. Billy takes him outside and starts to scrub him down with soapy water and a broom. Lorel explains how the oil poisons the animals and makes them sick. The oil will kill the fish, and then the seals, without any fish to eat, will die. Without seals to eat, the polar bears will die. That is how an oil spill can break a food chain.
Joanna Carey does a terrific job with her colourful illustrations. The watercolour pictures tell the story for the reader using the perfect amount of emotion and detail. My volunteer readers all chose the two-page spread of Billy scrubbing the polar bear's stomach as their favourite part of the book. The author's exciting story is broken into short chapters which make this story a pleasure to read. A Break in the Chain is part of the "Yellow Bananas" series which is the next step up from the "Blue Bananas" series. "Yellow Banana" titles indicate their guided reading level, and teacher guides are sold separately. This series has high interest, lower level reading stories. A Break in the Chain is a recommended purchase for public and school libraries. This title is a nice choice for reluctant readers. Recommended. As the result of another exciting Northern move, Catherine Hoyt is now living and working in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. She is a volunteer at one of the most northern public libraries in Canada.
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When Billy goes to get Lorel a snack from the refrigerator, Lorel disappears. The next day at school, the whole class is talking about the oil spill. The class decides to write letters and raise money to help with the animal clean up. The children hold a "Sponsored Scrub" where pledges raise money for the children to scrub an oil stained rug. The event is a huge success, but, despite the children's hard scrubbing, there are still lots of oily patches on the rug. Then the class sends and receives e-mail about their environmental concerns to the leaders of countries all over the world. The next night as Billy is preparing for bed, he receives a computer message from Lorel thanking him for his help; it's almost magical. Was Billy dreaming, or did Lorel really visit him? My young readers all believe that Lorel really did visit of course.