________________ CM . . . . Volume V Number 6 . . . . November 13, 1998

cover The Quebec City Crisis. (Screech Owls Series No. 7).

Roy MacGregor.
Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart, 1998.
115 pp, paper, $4.99.
ISBN 0-7710-5617-6.

Subject Headings:
Hockey stories.
Quebec (Province)-English-French relations-Juvenile fiction.
Miscommunication-Juvenile fiction.

Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 11.
Review by Betsy Fraser.

*** /4

excerpt:

He stepped out, glided on his left foot and pumped twice with his right, the little jump he always did when stepping onto fresh ice. He felt instantly at home. What a strange, wonderful country Canada was, he thought. People who can't even talk to each other have a game that does it for them. From coast to coast they skate and play hockey, from the time they learn to walk until they're older than Travis's own father.
Travis Lindsay, captain of the Screech Owls hockey team, is in Quebec with the team for the Quebec Peewee Tournament. While there, he is asked by a local reporter to keep a journal of his stay. Travis and the rest of his friends are very excited for this is the tournament at which Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux all came to prominence. The dream, however, turns into a nightmare when Travis's comments are twisted in the local paper so as to appear anti-French and the situation then escalates beyond Travis's control.

      Action in The Quebec City Crisis highlights three of the Screech Owls in particular, Travis, Sarah and Nish. Both boys and girls will enjoy this book as the hockey sequences are clear and exciting while the writing allows all three of the characters to shine. These kids are not perfect: they have dreams, make mistakes and try to rectify the misunderstanding that is at the centre of the plot. Intended for the same age group that would read Eric Wilson's mysteries, The Quebec City Crisis has a timely aspect and touches on issues of significance such as French/English relations and Quebec history.

Recommended.

Betsy Fraser is a librarian with the Calgary Public Library system.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - NOVEMBER 13, 1998.

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