by Iain Lawrence
Penguin Random House, 2016
ISBN 978-1-10191-835-7
$19.99 (hc), 288 pp, ages 8 – 12
penguinrandomhouse.ca
When two boys went fishing with their uncle they expected an enjoyable quiet trip. What they got was so much more. The weather turned really bad, really quickly, resulting in the sinking of their boat and the loss of their uncle. While floating helplessly on a life boat, the boys came across an island. The island was home to a cabin, a tree filled with coffins, a grizzly bear, and now two boys. The boys needed to find a way to survive on the island while they waited for help. They struggled both mentally and physically throughout the story. Do they make it off the island alive? My favourite character was Chris because we are roughly the same age and we have similar interests like reading and not liking sports. My favourite part of The Skeleton Tree was when Chris was being attacked by the grizzly bear and his pet raven came to save him with a pack of wolves. I like how his raven was so loyal to him. I thought it was incredible that a tiny bird would fight a big bear to save his human friend. I would recommend The Skeleton Tree to kids who like adventure stories and enjoy being outdoors, as Iain Lawrence describes the setting with a lot of details.
Review by Connor, age 14, grade 9.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Jan/Feb 2017 issue.