Lanie's Real Adventures (American Girl of the Year Series)

by Jane Kurtz

Overview

Lanie is having a busy summer. The backyard wildflower garden she planted with her aunt is starting to bloom with all the flowers that butterflies like best. Lanie is delighted, but her next-door neighbor objects-she says that Lanie is growing an ugly "weed garden" and she threatens to interfere. As she searches for ways to spread the word about the benefits of natural gardening, Lanie is horrified to discover the neighbor using poisonous sprays next door-pesticides that could hurt the butterflies and birds nesting in the garden. Can Lanie find a way to get along with her neighbor-and find a creative solution to their garden problem?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609582906
Publisher:	AMERICAN GIRL PUBLISHING, INC
Publication date:	12/20/2012
Series:	American Girl of the Year Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Amy June Bates has illustrated many books for children, including Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull, The Dog Who Belonged to No One by Amy Hest and You Can Do It! by Tony Dungy. She graduated from Brigham Young University and now lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three children. Illustrating books has always been her dream.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3–5—In the first book, 10-year-old Lanie loves the outdoors, especially when she's exploring wildlife and recording facts in her science journal. She's always done the experiments with her friend, but now Dakota is in an Indonesian rainforest for six months, having real scientific adventures. Feeling envious, Lanie takes advantage of an unexpected visit by her outdoorsy aunt to convince her "indoor genes" family to go camping. She's turned down, however, because of her younger sister's fear of bugs, her older sister's compulsion to become a concert cellist, and her parents' fear of repeating previous camping disasters. In Real Adventures, life is looking up. Lanie gets to go on the camping trip, her garden is starting to bloom and attract butterflies, and Dakota should be home soon. Problems arise, however, when a neighbor doesn't use environmentally friendly gardening methods. Lanie is worried that the pesticides will hurt the butterflies and she comes up with alternate pest-control methods and implements them herself. Kurtz's characters are well developed, and the situations the protagonist faces are realistic. Colorful illustrations in various media depict the characters and Lanie's science-journal entries. Interesting animal facts add dimension without overpowering the stories, and closing nonfiction sections answer environmental questions (Lanie) and provide stories of child environmentalists (Real Adventures). Fans of "American Girl" novels, realistic fiction, science, and adventure will enjoy these books.—Kira Moody, Hunter Public Library, West Valley City, UT

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