Home School Book Review on Hiking the Grand Mesa

Torke, Kyle.  Hiking the Grand Mesa: A Clementine the Rescue Dog Story (Published in 2020  by Loving Healing Press, 5145  Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI  48205).   Two young boys, Coover and Conrad, go with their Grandma and their mighty rescue dog, Clementine, on a desert adventure.  They hike through the southern Colorado Dobies, a series of steep hills made from adobe clay that formed as the nearby volcanoes, now extinct, eroded.  Their goal is to explore one of the most unique landscapes in Colorado–the Grand Mesa. At first, Coover seems a little sad and lonely at the apparently barren and solitary landscape, but Grandma introduces him to the rich wildlife, both plant and animal, around them, and both boys go tramping through an imaginative journey.  What will they see?  Where will they go?  And what will they do?

Hiking the Grand Mesa is a nature lover’s dream.  Beginning readers will be fascinated by the vivid history of the area as described in author Kyle Torke’s clear, detailed text, and by the beautiful scenery depicted in illustrator Barbara Torke’s gorgeous watercolor paintings.

This fun and insightful story is a wonderful, challenging reading experience with vocabulary development, contextual learning, and the encouragement of imagination.  From woodpeckers and toads, to cattails and sunflowers, youngsters will be awakened to a whole new world.  The first book in the series is Ice Breaking: The Adventures of Clementine the Rescue Dog.

North of Nelson - Volume 2

978-1-7367449-1-8
$21.95
Stories of Michigan's Upper Peninsula
In stock
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-7367449-1-8
Brand: Silver Mountain Press
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Author: Hilton Everett Moore
Pages: 190
Publication Date: 07/01/2023

...five compelling short stories from North of Nelson, Volume II, will captivate even the most jaded reader with frankness and audacity. Moore holds nothing back, no subject is out of bounds, no apologies are given, as he exposes stories of incest and lust, love, and hate.

In the short story Cell Tower, Milly is beset with guilt over her incestuous relationship with her mentally deranged younger brother Edward. The story ends tragically, as a deputy sheriff pursues Edward to his remote cabin in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula where all three characters lives are entangled in a disturbing conclusion.

In the following story, Ditch Dog, the ignoble uncle of a sensitive nephew, Brian, engage in a strained explosive bond, between the pair, that ends in a heart-rendering death of Ellie, Brian's loyal dog.

In Ode to a Lone Wolf, Randy, a farmer struggles with a perennial problem of wolf predation of his cattle and his love for the local female DNR officer. Like life itself there is no easy answer as he finds himself at odds with his ex-wife and behind bars.

The rest of the stories, from North of Nelson, Volume II, carry on from the previous volume and leave the reader wishing Moore would publish another set of gripping tales from the rugged Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

"North of Nelson should be read slowly, savoring the quirky characters, the poetry of the words, the odd, fierce stories. Hilton Everett Moore is far more than a regional writer. His words and stories place him in high literary circles indeed. So many of his phrases or sentences elicited a bit of envy, as in 'I wish I would have written that!' Beautifully illustrated throughout! A treat for the eyes, the mind, the imagination." -- Sue Harrison, author of The Midwife's Touch

"Hilton Moore writes in southern Baraga County and has done all the things right to capture narrative seriousness about the region. His themes and styles are reader-friendly and are finding acclaim. Mainly he works at storytelling about the UP and the first volume was listed as a U.P. Notable Book. Let us hope that this second volume of Nelson stories remains among the UP Notable Books. I think it has the polish and the seriousness to do just that." -- Donald M. Hassler, Emeritus Professor of English and contributor to UP Book Review

"Hilton Everett Moore's writings provide an intimate glimpse into the lives of North of Nelson residents. They reveal the physical and emotional struggles of living in the rugged wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In the final short story Moore's character states, Tonight I was witness to the undressing of a human soul... The author beautifully and lovingly exposes an individual's conflicts in searching for meaning in their lives. As with Volume I, North of Nelson II is a great read." Jean Treacy, MA in Reading, former instructor at Western Michigan University

From Silver Mountain Press

www.SilverMountainPress.com

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  1. Pingback: Home School Book Review on Hiking the Grand Mesa – Loving Healing Press | Campbells World

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