Alligator Crossing

by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Trudy Nicholson (Illustrator)

This novel for young readers takes a young boy from his crowded Miami home to the open expanses of the Florida Everglades. He comes of age in a wilderness both enlightening and dangerous, among a cast of characters that includes a wily alligator hunter, a rich photographer and his daughter (they live on a yacht), and a biologist working for the Park Service.

For Henry Bunks, a secret spot in the city along the canal is his only respite from street gangs, a crowded apartment building, and an uncaring family. His explorations near the canal soon bring him into contact with an outlaw alligator hunter. Stowing aboard his boat, Henry begins a journey away from the city and into the Everglades, a trip that will expand his awareness, change his life, and force him to make difficult decisions.

Moral choices accompany environmental awareness as we learn through Henry's eyes of the mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles of the Everglades. But it's a, final race to save a human life that crystallizes Henry's experiences in this wilderness.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2003

About the author

Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998) was an American journalist, writer, feminist, and environmentalist, known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for development. Moving to Miami as a young woman to work for The Miami Herald, Douglas became a freelance writer, producing over a hundred short stories that were published in popular magazines. Her most influential work was the book, The Everglades: River of Grass, which redefined the popular conception of the Everglades as a treasured river, instead of a worthless swamp; its impact has been compared to that of Rachel Carson's influential book Silent Spring.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! I thoroughly enjoyed reading 13 yr old Henry's coming of age story; his adventures and misadventures from his home in Miami to the Florida Everglades; his love of wildlife and his budding knowledge of man; (natural) world, and his place in it..

Reminds me of Huckleberry Finn!

[Haley Kilgour · Rating 2 out of 5]

About the only good thing in this book is the environment aspects. The plot and characters were pretty sad and unrealistic.

Henry himself feels more like he’s 9 than 13. He just bumbles around and gets lucky. Also, he’s mad ad Dillon for killing “his” alligator, yet stows away on his boat a second time, more or less agreeing to go hunting. He then allows Dillon to kill two more alligators and a raccoon before apparently a deer is too much. Then, he can’t make up a valid reason for him to be lost.

Then there’s the adults. Like… why don’t any of them immediately send Henry back to Miami? Also, how could the Dr not be like what’s a kid doing in the middle of the Everglades alone. And she also forgot he said he’d left someone behind on a boat.

Just, this story was a mess.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in 2014 - a young boy travels through my beloved Everglades. 🐊

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A living book.

[Jim Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marjory really brings the glades to life in an interesting time period through the pages in this novel. Quick easy read worth looking into

[Kaleah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh I've read better books for sure. The storyline was kind of boring for me. This story would have been better in first person point of view.

[Hitler · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG this was SO FUCKING HORRIBLE! COULDNT EVEN STAY AWAKE IN CLASS READING IT!