Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle? Review in Booklist

A recent review by Connie Fletcher, Booklist, January 1 & 15, 2010.

Jake Reynolds: Chicken or Eagle?
By Sara Leach.
2009. 112p. Orca, paper, $7.95 (9781554691456).
Gr. 3–6.
The theme of confronting fear is made vivid
in this chapter book about an 11-year-old boy
who is scared of two things: encountering a
wolf in the woods and running away from it.
What would remain a fairy-tale hypothesis for
most kids is a realistic one for hero Jake Reynolds,
since at least one wolf has been spotted
on the tiny island where he and his family live.
!e book takes off midway through when he
and his best friend, Emily, take a hike through
the woods. Just as in his fearful dreams, Jake
soon finds himself held at bay by two wolves.
Jake’s selflessness in protecting Emily and his
coolheadedness in following the advice to never
run from a wolf form both a heart-pounding
climax and a very satisfying resolution to his
fears. Information about living in harmony
with the environment is seamlessly incorporated.
Introverted Jake is similar to Greg Heffley
in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, but his
struggles are developed in a much more serious
vein. —Connie Fletcher