"Scent of the Missing"

Title: Scent of the Missing
Author: Susannah Charleson
Age Range: 12+
Reviewer: Heather
Note: This book will not be released until April 14th, 2010

Scent of the Missing is a well-written and captivating book about Search and Rescue, Susannah Charleson writes openly and in great detail. She uses many metaphors – and a lot of them made me laugh because they were so creative.

The book doesn’t have any real plot, but while reading it you don’t notice because it’s not that type of story. It’s a true account of the author’s journey of assisting and observing other search dog teams before she decides to train her own dog.

She gets Puzzle, a golden retriever, as a small puppy and writes about the good and bad, the easy and hard of training her to be a good search dog. It’s sometimes frustrating work for Susannah, but Puzzle seems born to search and does her job well.


Scent of the Missing doesn’t have much action, and I was surprised at how many of the searches she went on with Puzzle and other dogs were not actually successful. It’s mainly about her learning alongside her dog to help them both become part of the team.

This is a great book for anyone wanting to know more about the Search and Rescue program, or for those who want to actually train a Search and Rescue dog. It gave me a huge amount of insight on the subject.

Drawing Made Easy by E.G. Lutz

Title: Drawing Made Easy
Author: E. G. Lutz
Age Range: 7+

Reviewer: Heather

This is a great book to learn how to draw. It gives easy to follow step-by-step instructions of how to draw all kinds of things—flowers, many different animals (though some of the animals aren’t my style) people and faces, plus other random stuff. You learn using a kind of outline technique, sort of doing the outside first and going in and doing the details after the main shape has been created.
In the beginning of the book it walks you through the basics, like how to use a pencil compass, what items you need to have for a good drawing session, learning how to draw smooth curves etc. This is a good place to start.
This is a review for the 2009 edition of Drawing Made Easy, there is a previous edition that is a bit different (less learning how to draw faces and it’s shorter).
And, the 2009 edition has a foreward by James Gurney, author of Dinotopia!

Dinotopia: Land Apart from Time by James Gurney

Title: Dinotopia: Land Apart From Time
Author: James Gurney
Age Range: 8+
Reviewer: Heather

Dinotopia is a story set in the late 1800s, where a man called Arthur Denison writes about his life living on the island of Dinotopia. He has a son, Will Denison, a 12 year old who gets older as the book progresses.
Dinotopia is very realistic, and the stunning illustrations of oil paint done by the author, James Gurney, make it feel even more real. The art is a main part of the book, it would be completely different without it.
The story does not have much plot, it’s mostly just telling you how life is on Dinotopia. Dinosaurs and humans live side by side, neither of them in control over the other, it’s more of a partnership. The dinosaurs have their own language, and an alphabet they use to communicate with humans. I had a great time learning how to write it! There is a key in the book that tells you what each letter and number is.
The book brings you through many of the Dinotopian towns, which can all be found on the handy map in the beginning of the book. My favorite is Treetown, where the humans live in treehouses.
Will Denison becomes a Skybax rider, one of the many that ride the Quetzalcoatlus Skybax, a flying dinosaur. The book takes you through his journey of learning how to ride and making friends with another rider.
All of the dinosaurs in this book actually existed, though some of the names are fictional. This adds a very real touch.
This is a great book full of charm and just makes you want to sail off and become a Dinotopian!
This is the first book in a series of three (so far).