Review - Up the Creek

Up the Creek (Life in the Wild)
by Nicholas Oldland
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

The bear, the moose and the beaver are the best of friends, even though they often disagree. On a canoe trip, the trio’s squabbling leads them into rough waters. Can they agree on a plan before it’s too late?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I finally got my hands on the remaining book in this series! It's actually one of the stronger ones, I think, because it's so relatable, especially to people with siblings. The animals' canoeing trip--and resulting squabbling--reminded me of outdoor outings my family used to take. They'd inevitably end up with me and my sister at each other's throats. (In fact, the last time we took out the canoes, we were relegated to separate ones because our parents knew we'd just fight if we were in the same boat together!)

In this book, Bear, Moose, and Beaver decide to go canoeing. But they can't agree on anything. They all want to steer, so they all try to sit in the back (with predictable results). Once they bail out all the water and get going again, they all want to paddle on the left... which means they go in circles. Eventually, they get things straightened out, only to hit a patch of rapids. Then they're really up the creek!

This is a great addition to the Life in the Wild series, and probably one of my favourites about these funny animals. I do wish that they had worn life jackets while canoeing (which wouldn't be that weird, considering Moose wore one in Making the Moose Out of Life when he went sailing). Other than that, though, this is a pretty entertaining read.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.83 out of 5