Mystery of the Eagle's Nest

Reviewed by: Bernie Alie - Kennebunk Free Library, Kennebunk, ME, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 11, 2015

Review

When Cooper and Packrat discover eagle parts in what they thought was their geocaching box, they know someone is up to nefarious deeds. Two men check into the campground that Cooper's family owns. They begin threatening the boys, then the eaglets nesting nearby. The boys decline adult help, and along with another friend, Roy, and teen camper Gavin, they attempt to keep the eagle parts hidden until they can give them to the warden, while also protecting the eaglets. Along the way, Cooper struggles with trust issues with both Roy and Gavin.

Life in a seasonal campground is accurately depicted. Told from Cooper's point of view, we see him cleaning bathrooms and entertaining children. The banter between the boys rings true. However, the adults are more stock characters. The two threatening men are oafish caricatures reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy but without the humor. The danger level seems high for either the boys or the birds to be harmed, yet the boys do a good job of hiding the tension from their parents. The only adult who seems to notice is revealed to have ulterior motives. Black and white illustrations appear to be pencil and are of average quality. The humans are cartoonish, the adult birds appear fierce while the eaglets are fluffy and cute.

Editing errors mar the quality. For instance, when describing the contents inside the box (p.10), first we are told there were "about 20 loose eagle feathers," and 5 paragraphs later, "Packrat held the eagle wing, carefully pulling it out, as if the eagle were in flight." Given the dimensions of the box, an eagle wing would not fit inside. The contents are listed again on p. 51, and no wing is mentioned. On page 118, Roy puts his flashlight under his face and the boys get into a shoving match. On page 121, Cooper recalls putting the flashlight under his own face.

Children willing to overlook these shortcomings will find a mystery that will inspire them to get outdoors. These are active boys who spend their days exploring the woods and canoeing on a lake. For some readers, it will be a first introduction to the sport of geocaching. For others, it will be a reminder to look up into trees for potential hatchlings.

Although second in the Cooper and Packrat series, enough back story is given for this tale to stand alone.

Overall Book Score: good