Salamander Rescue

Orca Echoes

by Pamela McDowell, Kasia Charko (Illustrations)

Cricket McKay is back and answering a new "Save Our Salamanders!" Cricket McKay has lived in Waterton all her life, so she is surprised to discover an animal she hasn’t seen the long-toed salamander. She finds a band of them migrating from the pond to their hibernation grounds at Crandell Mountain. Crossing the road that lies between the pond and the mountain is dangerous enough, but now a newly-constructed curb makes their journey even more challenging. Can Cricket and her friends come up with a solution to help the salamanders?

Salamander Rescue is the second book featuring Cricket and friends.

Genres: Nature, Childrens

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2016

About the author

I am a Canadian children's author and presenter. My fiction series for young readers features ecological adventures set in Waterton Lakes National Park. The next book in the series, Fire on the Mountain, will be released into the wild on March 22, 2022.

I also enjoy writing non-fiction and have published over fifty books for students in Kindergarten to grade six. My most popular non-fiction book is a biography of Selena Gomez, the creepiest book is about lice, and the cutest is about black bears. I like to write about science and nature, as well as people and history.

I love visiting classrooms to talk about writing, wildlife and environmental stewardship. Presentations use my books as springboards to dive into these larger discussions with students in Kindergarten to grade six.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Salamander Rescue for its look at what it's like to be a kid living in a Western Canadian National Park, surrounded by wild animals. Cricket and friends are lively characters who care about their world and take action to help. Details about salamanders and other animals are inserted naturally into the adventure story. The illustrations really help to visualize the creatures and scenes. Children, especially those who love animals and nature, will love the book both for the story and what they learn. I read Ospreys, too, the first book in this series and found it equally good. I look forward to the next one!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandchildren and I enjoyed this book and found the story exciting. They learned more about salamanders and endangered species. They plan to tell their friends and teachers. My daughter, who is an elementary school teacher, is taking the book to her classroom to share with her students. We will be getting the Osprey book next to add to our collection.

[Naomi Brist · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a wonderful story. My son and I read this story together; he loved it for the story and I loved that it was educational but told in a way he didn't feel like it was part of his school work. This is a series we will definitely keep reading.

[Megan Rang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. What an awesome children's chapter book. It shows how kids can get involved to make a difference for a cause. In this story it is saving salamanders.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Overall I love finding science related fiction chapter books for kids... but my overall opinion of this story is that it may be too simple for kids that have the attention span for chapter books. This definitely isn’t true of all younger kiddos - so gauge your own child’s interest. Mine - by the time he wanted longer stories (kindergarten), this story would not have held his attention. It was like spoon feeding instead of letting a child feed themselves.

The story and reading level were both too simple for my 3rd grader. I think it would be a nice read aloud for preschool - 1st grade. The plot is too simple for older kiddos. I hope this doesn’t discourage the author from adding more science based chapter books to our choices... maybe even writing some for older kids/advanced younger readers. For the right age, for those interested in nature and science - this is a good book.