Travels with Gannon & Wyatt, a review & giveaway (ends 11/22)

My son, Peter (age 8), has been traveling the world with his new chums,  Gannon & Wyatt!  So far they’ve fought to save a lioness shot by a poacher in Botswana,  and searched for the “spirit bear” in the wild Rainforest…next they’ll be  fending off grave robbers amongst the tombs of Egypt…

Travels with Gannon & Wyatt

by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet

Publisher:  Greenleaf Book Group Press

Current titles:

Botswana

Great Bear Rainforest

And coming January 2014:

Egypt

We received all 3 titles for review…would you believe that my 8-year-old finished them within a couple of days?  He just couldn’t put them down.

Gannon and Wyatt are brothers.  They are fortunate enough to have a Mom who works for an airline, which means that they get to take family vacations to exotic locales when there are empty airplane seats!  While some people might take a trip to Hawaii---their family seems to like the unpredictable and adventurous. 

The boys are are also homeschooled, something you don’t find often in books for kids in this age group (kids ages 8-12).  In fact, many books for the middle grades take place in school---my home learners don’t seem to mind that at all, but it is fun to read about someone who’s learning in a less conventional setting.

Like the African Savannah, maybe?    I think any kid would love to have that opportunity.

Each book is written as a “travel journal” with Gannon and Wyatt taking turns sharing the events as they happen, each from his own perspective. 

How realistic is it? 

The two boys clearly regard each other as knuckleheads much of the time---something I witness with my own boys in real life.  

But they also pretty obviously care for each other.  I like that the format of the books allows the authors to get that across without it being all sappy or literarily introspective.

One of my older kids didn’t care for the writing style.  She complained there were too many run-on sentences…which is something you might expect from a book written as a journal (people often express themselves in stream of consciousness when they are writing a journal).   

That is a hurdle to get over.Peter initially didn’t like the journal format, either, but he changed his mind once he was about 10 pages into the first book (it was just too exciting, I think).

We really like…

…there’s lots of information shared without beating you over the head with it---a curious kid might want to do some research on his own.  I love it when books cause kid to think without actually telling them to think.

In fact, Peter has been practicing Setswana (a traditional language in Botswana)---there’s a page in the front of the Botswana book with some phrases in English and Setswana.

I asked Peter what his favorite part of Botswana was.

Peter: 

Well, there was that part where Wyatt thought that the future Gannon was going to say, “Hey Wyatt, remember when in Botswana you were so savagely attacked by that log?”  And there was that time when they were attacked by a crocodile that was not a log and when Wyatt got captured by the bad guy and there was that time when Gannon made up what a border agent would say (oops, that’s in the second book) and there was that time when they were doing surgery…etc.

Action.  Check.  Humor.  Check. 

Overall, I think Gannon & Wyatt are great chums for boys.

These books are just about perfect for my 8-year-old, and  I think the series would be a good bet for most 8-12 year old boys. 

Older boys who have difficulty with reading will probably also enjoy reading Travels with Gannon & Wyatt.  The journalistic style makes it easy to read without it feeling “dumbed down.”

Now, how would you like to win something for under your Christmas tree?

Go to the Gannon & Wyatt Facebook Page to find out how you can win 1 of 3 Kindle Fires!

The folks at Greenleaf  Book Group Press have also very generously offered to give one of you your very own set of all 3 Travels with Gannon & Wyatt books! 

Here’s the fine print:

1 winner will receive the 3 book set (retail value $38.85) with 1 copy each of Travels with Gannon & Wyatt:  Botswana, Great Bear Rainforest, and Egypt.

This giveaway will end on Friday, November 22, 2013 at midnight EST.

Must be 18 or older to enter and a resident of the US (includes all 50 states).

Winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond, after which another winner will be selected.

The sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment.

How to Enter: 

Just leave me a comment telling me who you want the books for.  That’s it!

Note:  Please make it easy for me to contact you---leave your email in the comment if it’s not visible in your profile.  If I draw your name and can’t figure out how to contact you, I’ll have to pick a new winner.

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.