(4) 4-6 National Parks Mystery series. In this sixth installment in the series, the mild mystery (why a herd of wild mustangs in Utah's Zion National Park is behaving strangely) takes a back seat to siblings Jack and Ashley's interactions with Ethan and Summer, two Shoshone foster children. The novel's portrayal of Ethan as a hostile Native American and Jack as an unsympathetic Anglo sets the boys up for a somewhat contrived conflict.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 National Parks Mystery series. Set in Montana's Glacier National Park, this fifth installment in the series packs quite a punch: siblings Jack and Ashley befriend a Mexican runaway, unearth a poaching scheme, and survive a grizzly bear attack--all in less than twenty-four hours, making for an implausible but engrossing story. Both the narrative and afterword dispel misconceptions about grizzlies, and four pages inside contain crisp color photos.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) YA National Parks Mystery series. Accompanying their veterinarian mother on her latest case, Jack, Ashley, and Bridger--a short-term foster child--link the poisoning of manatees in Everglades National Park to a toxic waste cover-up. A heavy-handed subplot has Bridger rethinking his sexist attitude toward women. As in earlier books in the series, facts about the park's wildlife and ecology are woven smoothly into the mystery.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) YA National Parks Mystery series. In a set-up too reminiscent of Wolf Stalker (the series opener), Jack and Ashley, along with Lucky, a teenage foster child, accompany their veterinarian mother on her latest mission: to investigate cougar attacks in Mesa Verde National Park. Anthropological details about the ancient cliff dwellers are woven into the narrative, and Jack's showdowns with a cougar and with Lucky--whom he both likes and mistrusts--make for a riveting read.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) YA National Parks Mystery series. On a family trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Jack and Ashley Landon meet nine-year-old Danny Tran. While Jack is flattered by the younger boy's eager admiration, talkative Ashley is annoyed by the chatty know-it-all. The youngsters' realistic interactions and the text's interesting cultural and scientific facts counterbalance the feeble mystery plot. An insert of color photos of Hawaiian animals, vegetation, and volcanoes is included.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.