The Screech Owls' Northern Adventure

Screech Owls #3

by Roy MacGregor, Gregory C. Banning (Illustrator)

The Screech Owls are on the road again, on a bumpy plane ride way up North that will land them in some very deep trouble!

When Jesse Highboy’s dad asked the Screech Owls how they felt about going to James Bay to play in the First Nations Peewee Hockey Tournament, everyone thought it was a great idea.

It was the first time a non-native team had been invited, and the pressure would be on the Owls to live up to the honour and play some good clean hockey. More important, Travis and his teammates would also get the chance to stay with local native families, eat traditional food, travel by Ski-Doo, and experience what life in the North is all about.

But freezing to death all alone in the bush, with a storm howling and the dreaded Trickster stalking the night? No one had asked the Screech Owls how they felt about that!

The Screech Owls’ Northern Adventure is the third book in the Screech Owls Series.

Check out the Screech Owls’ website at www.screechowls.com

Genres: Sports, Mystery, Canada, Hockey, Childrens

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 15, 1996

About the author

Roy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction.

Reviews

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book! lots of plot twist, but i really liked all the action and drama that came across when reading this book!

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

This time the screech owls are in the far North and for some reason, Nish insists on being insufferably rude to their Cree hosts. Even as an adult, I’m not sure why he did this, other than he’s just 12 and the idea of some of their food is so different than ours it might seem gross. I loved how Jesse and Rachel jumped into action to save Nish, even when he was being an ass the whole trip and it was so sweet how Travis didn’t even hesitate to give the captain of the other team his stick when he saw that they didn’t have enough to go around.
Overall a lovely story, as usual

[J.B. Mathias · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty cliche, a lot of the cute moments seemed unrealistic and contrived. The whole book seemed like an excuse to showcase native culture, which is fine but it made for kind of a preachy condescending childrens book.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Book 3 of the Screech Owls series, our favorite Midget (junior high school) hockey team heads up to James Bay in Canada to the town of Waskaganish, where they participate in a hockey tournament for the Cree tribes in the area. Travis Lindsay is still the protagonist, and he, his friend Nish (who, for some reason, acts like a real jerk for the first half of the story), Jesse Highboy, and Jimmy's cousin Rachel Highboy have an adventure all their own when they head for the Highboys' grandfather's goose camp and are caught in a snowstorm. Of course, this only happens because Nish drove a snowmobile onto the lake and it fell through the ice, dumping him in the water. One rescue later and the kids are building a camp to dry him off. Once again, the Screech Owls are in the finals, against the Wolverines--Rachel Highboy's team (did I mention that Travis is sweet on her?). Will the Owls pull off the victory? Well, I'll let you read it.

I liked the story. It held together fairly well. The writing was OK; it is not complicated prose, that's for sure. However, it is also pitched at teens or tweens, so you can't write it too complexly. (You also can't have too complex of a plot--only two or three threads to follow or the kiddos forget about them.) So, I'll give a pass on that, too. The characterization was somewhat spotty, though. The coach, Muck, is presented as a stoic guy, but he gets choked up when the kids return. OK, so that my be due to relief at their rescue; I'll give them that. But, Nish going from not wanting to be at the tournament to being the star player in the tournament, I think, needs a little explanation. Still, the guys are growing on me. I just wonder how long Mr. MacGregor can keep the kids on the team (they are supposed to age out, and I know the series is 23 books long; maybe I will find out if these stories keep my son's interest...)

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great chapter books for kids who like Hockey!! What fun books with mysteries that are appropriate for kids 9 and up!

Each book has a an exciting hockey game and a mystery to solve. The characters in the books are very relateable for kids of this age and engaging. I love that their are both boys and girls on the team and they all contribute!

The stories also contain lessons on teamwork, sportsmanship and friendship! Terrific lessons for all kids!

There are a few times when I thought the content was a bit off for the age, but then when you compare it to modern video games, movies and tv shows, it was mild. Kids today are ages ahead of their past counterparts and these books reflect that.

Hockey fans will find a lot to love here. The play-by-play is really fun to read even for non-sporties like myself.

Cover Art - Eye catching and easy to tell the theme of the books.

Disclosure: This ebook was provided to me free of charge through NetGalley for the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments, and ratings are my own.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third installment to the Screech Owls series. In The Screech Owls Northern Adventure, the team travels to James Bay where they get to experience life with the native families. At first they have a lot of fun but soon enough Travis, Nish, Liz, Jesse and Jesse's cousin Rachel get stranded overnight in the great white north.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me remember my childhood! Gotta love the classic hockey stories!

[Teebz Hbic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for The Screech Owls' Northern Adventure can be found on Hockey Blog In Canada.