Mysteries in Our National Parks

 

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: As young as second grade if your kids are gutsy. If not, maybe fourth grade.  A few of the books (especially Valley of Death and Over the Edge) are pretty scary.  I still have an irrational fear of flash floods from Over the Edge ha ha. But the good news is that there is no sexual content or foul language (as far as I remember).

Plot:   Jack and Ashley Landon travel to various national parks with their veterinarian mother and wildlife photographer father. Each book features a new national park and Jack and Ashley learn about the park while solving some mystery the adults can't seem to figure out. The Landons are also a foster family and each book features a new temporary foster child whose rough past adds to the drama of the plot.

What makes them great?

These books are both entertaining and educational.  When we read them as kids, my siblings and I learned all sorts of things about the national parks, wildlife conservation, and political controversy, all while hanging on the edge of our seats ( . . . or the side of the bunk bed in this case) to see how the mystery would be solved.  I also liked how each new foster child brought in the perspectives of a different lifestyle or culture into the Landon family.  It's a pretty good idea.  These books are a great series to read aloud to kids, especially in preparation for trips to various national parks.

Where to find them?

We got them through a National Geographic subscription, which I imagine wouldn't work anymore.  However, I have seen them at libraries and in national park bookstores and I am sure they are on Amazon somewhere.

Here is a list of all the titles and where they take place:

#1 Woolf Stalker (Yellowstone National Park)
#2 Rage of Fire (Hawaii Volcanoes National Park)
#3 Cliff Hanger (Mesa Verde National Park)
#4 Deadly Waters  (Everglades National Park)
#5 The Hunted (Glacier National Park)
#6 Ghost Horses (Zion National Park)
#7 Over the Edge (Grand Canyon National Park)
#8 Valley of Death (Death Valley)
#9 Escape from Fear (Virgin Islands National Park)
#10 Out of the Deep (Acadia National Park)
#11 Running Scared (Carlsbad Caverns National Park)
# 12 Buried Alive (Denali National Park)
#13 Night of the Black Bear (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)