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Mysteries in Our National Parks #8
Valley of Death
What's causing the deaths of desert bighorn sheep in Death Valley National Park? Wildlife veterinarian Olivia Landon has been called in to investigate. The plot thickens when her daughter, Ashley, is kidnapped by militants who mistake her for Leesa, a mysterious girl temporarily in the Landons' care. Tension builds to a spine-chilling climax when a showdown in the desert leads the family to a missile testing site and the key to what is killing the sheep.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Gloria Skurzynski
90 books30 followers"May you live in interesting times."
That ambiguous wish was not meant to be kind, because interesting times can be difficult. You and I certainly live in interesting times - dangerous, challenging, and fascinating.
My parents were born just before the start of the twentieth century; my youngest grandchild arrived in this century's final decade. The years in between have been the most dynamic in the history of the human race. Technical knowledge has exploded; so has the Earth's human population. We can create almost anything, yet each day we lose parts of our planet that can never be replaced.
I'm greedy: I want to write about all of it - the history, the grief, joy, and excitement of being human in times past; the cutting-edge inventions of times almost here.
--from the author's website
Gloria Skurzynski has also co-written books with her daughter Alane Ferguson.
That ambiguous wish was not meant to be kind, because interesting times can be difficult. You and I certainly live in interesting times - dangerous, challenging, and fascinating.
My parents were born just before the start of the twentieth century; my youngest grandchild arrived in this century's final decade. The years in between have been the most dynamic in the history of the human race. Technical knowledge has exploded; so has the Earth's human population. We can create almost anything, yet each day we lose parts of our planet that can never be replaced.
I'm greedy: I want to write about all of it - the history, the grief, joy, and excitement of being human in times past; the cutting-edge inventions of times almost here.
--from the author's website
Gloria Skurzynski has also co-written books with her daughter Alane Ferguson.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 2, 2021
They are getting darker and darker but I really enjoyed it, I am liking the direction the series is going. Plus everything is more action packed with these higher stakes.
March 16, 2017
I thought this was a really well done juvenile fiction book! I think I would have really liked this series if it had been around when I was a child.
June 8, 2020
Valley of Death was a short but fun read. My guess is the book series is written for young teens, but I found it enjoyable. I know Death Valley having been there many times so the places in the story ring true. Young Jack, his sister Ashley, and a mystery girl, Leesa, get caught up in a kidnapping in the park. A young college-age reporter comes to the rescue and helps Jack and Leesa lead the cops to the bad guys and they get Ashley. It one of the books in a series of mysteries set in 11 National Parks.
April 30, 2021
When visiting Death Valley for my birthday, I saw a display of a series of mystery books for kids about the National Parks. I HAD to grab one, and so selected the Death Valley one (obvi). This was a fantastic book for kids and should be read before you visit the park. The story was basic, but you could tell it was written by people who understood science and understood the park. I learned things!
September 29, 2017
Wow. All of this happened in less than 24 hours.
Jack had heard it before, that wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions were useless predators that harmed cattle and sheep and sometimes carried off little children - that part of it certainly wasn't true. "Our mom and dad teach us," he told Leesa, "that every living creature has its own value, its own reason for being on Earth."
Jack had heard it before, that wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions were useless predators that harmed cattle and sheep and sometimes carried off little children - that part of it certainly wasn't true. "Our mom and dad teach us," he told Leesa, "that every living creature has its own value, its own reason for being on Earth."
January 27, 2017
I think this is a great book series I have read two of the books and I just can't stop reading them.
January 11, 2023
I hoped this would be a fun mystery/thriller to recommend to YA. Unfortunately it wasn’t written very well.
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February 5, 2025My grandson gave this to me as a gift because he knows I love books :)
October 29, 2014
The more time I spend in national parks, the more I see this series in the ranger stations. And since I have some of my own stories to tell about national parks, I was intrigued, so I got this one about Death Valley (as you can probably guess) from the library.
It was fine. If I were ten years old and on a national parks road trip with my parents I would be super into these books. But as an adult they weren't particularly exceptional. They're written by a mother/daughter team, one of whom is a science writer and one of whom is a mystery writer. So you get some deep science into the national parks, in a way that is supposed to be entertaining but is mostly heavyhanded educational, with a soft enough touch to kind of get away with it. And the tone varied between lighthearted kids' book and really deep serious problems that they went harder on than most kids' books would. Which I found confusing, especially since I read this book a few pages at a time before bed every night.
I may pick up another one of these next time I'm at a national park. But I'm not going to drop everything to find the next one.
It was fine. If I were ten years old and on a national parks road trip with my parents I would be super into these books. But as an adult they weren't particularly exceptional. They're written by a mother/daughter team, one of whom is a science writer and one of whom is a mystery writer. So you get some deep science into the national parks, in a way that is supposed to be entertaining but is mostly heavyhanded educational, with a soft enough touch to kind of get away with it. And the tone varied between lighthearted kids' book and really deep serious problems that they went harder on than most kids' books would. Which I found confusing, especially since I read this book a few pages at a time before bed every night.
I may pick up another one of these next time I'm at a national park. But I'm not going to drop everything to find the next one.
February 16, 2012
Valley of Death was sub-par. Gloria Skurzynski's book was boring and didn't have enough action, towards the end it did have a gunfight but you didn't very information on the surroundings or the fight it's self. It didn't give us too many details leaving us to predict on what was happening at that moment. The book surrounds around three kids whose parents are scientist and photographers they go to monuments and land features all around America and take pictures of the landscape. The mom helps solves the natural problems usually involving animals in the environment. This time around there in Death Valley the sister gets kidnapped and the mom has to solve a problem with burros destroying the natural environment and Bighorn Sheep are dying with a unknown cause.I wouldn't recommended this book to anyone.Unless they are into realistic fiction and really, really, really, into environmental problems because they solve the problem in 4 pages and the way they solved it was unrealistic.But other those people no one should read this ever book.
May 17, 2016
I was so excited to discover that the National Parks had their own series of youth literature. It's everything I could ever dream! The authors weave educational facts in with their plot to keep kids interested and, hopefully, get them excited about visiting a National Park. My only concern was that the "foster kid" character was the catalyst for their problems in this story, but since it sounds like this family is featured in every book, I will reserve my judgment and hope that other foster children show up and are portrayed more positively.
February 14, 2009
By: Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson
Genre: Chapter Book, Fiction, Mystery
Audience: Third to sixth grade
Topic and theme: Protecting and standing up for friends. Staying strong
Curricular Uses: Read Aloud and Independent reading
Reading Level Fluent
Literary Elements. Dialogue and symbolism
Thoughts: Very adventerous book has a kidnapping that the characters need to figure out.
Genre: Chapter Book, Fiction, Mystery
Audience: Third to sixth grade
Topic and theme: Protecting and standing up for friends. Staying strong
Curricular Uses: Read Aloud and Independent reading
Reading Level Fluent
Literary Elements. Dialogue and symbolism
Thoughts: Very adventerous book has a kidnapping that the characters need to figure out.
July 29, 2013
The Landon family make a trip to Death Valley National Park accompanied by a mysterios new foster child, forteen year old Leesa Sherman. Jack calls her the mystery girl because she never talks and he doesn't know much about her. Then, Ashley gets kidnapped and the kidnappers said
"We have Ashley Landon. And we'll keep her until Leesa Sherman is returned to us."
What should Jack do?
March 27, 2009
Death Valley! WOW! HOT, to HOT for me, and I like heat!
June 21, 2010
This is a good little series of books for children based in National Parks. Not a page turner for me, but my kids like them.
June 18, 2011
I read this before, during, and after our recent visit to Death Valley National Park. The research and factoids are "dead" on! :)
November 14, 2011
A hate group kidnapping is what drives this one. Full of danger and tough decisions.
November 20, 2019
My 10 year old daughter loved this book. I’ve just finished reading it now as well.
The book is good for her age group. I enjoyed reading it as well.
Stars are based on her opinion.
The book is good for her age group. I enjoyed reading it as well.
Stars are based on her opinion.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews