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    Jungle Land
    Jungle Land
    Jungle Land
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    Jungle Land

    By Eric Walters

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    DJ is always thrilled to spend time with his grandfather, a person he idolizes. When his grandfather announces that he's going to take all of his grandsons on individual adventures, it seems only fair that DJ, as the oldest grandchild, will get his adventure first. An adventure that sees his grandfather at the controls of a small plane as the two fly to Central America for a week. But when someone tries to kidnap him, DJ must flee through the jungle and down a crocodile-infested river, pursued by armed gunmen. When he isn't busy trying to stay alive, DJ discovers things about himself he never suspected and uncovers information that leads him to believe his beloved grandfather is living a secret life.

    In this exciting prequel to Between Heaven and Earth and Sleeper, the responsible and athletically gifted DJ flies to Central America.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOrca Book Publishers
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781459811515
    Jungle Land
    Author

    Eric Walters

    Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

    Read more from Eric Walters

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    Reviews for Jungle Land

    3.5/5

    10 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      All DJ wanted was to go with his grandfather on a trip. Well, he got that. A pilot with lots of experience, Grampa and DJ head out to see an old friend in Central America. They land and DJ finds that the granddaughter of Juan de Carlo is also visiting and, in DJs eyes, that is so not good. But is mind will change as things move along.This is a really good YA book which, I will admit, surprised me at the end. Well told in first person by DJ it is the perfect voice for a teen who is alternately scared, awed and caring.
    • 4/5
      I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review."Jungle Land" is author Eric Walters's prequel to his "Seven" series (which I've never read) and is recommended for ages 9+. I would personally recommend it for ages 9-12; kids older than that may find it too juvenile for their liking.13-year-old DJ is always happy to spend time with his grandfather. When Grandpa picks DJ to be the first of his grandchildren to go on an adventure, DJ is thrilled. A seasoned pilot, Grandpa flies the two of them to Central America to visit an old friend. While there, DJ meets Alejandra, granddaughter of Grandpa's friend Juan. Alejandra has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, and she and DJ do not hit it off to begin with. However, when the kids find themselves in a life-threatening situation that requires them to muster their survival skills, the two are forced to work together. With armed men chasing after them, DJ and Alejandra flee through the jaguar-filled jungle and caiman-infested waters in a desperate attempt to get help, all the while not knowing what happened to their respective grandfathers. Will they escape? Will they be shot or eaten by caimans in the process? And what happened to their grandfathers?For a book of such short length (153 pages of fairly large type - I read the entire book in one sitting), it was packed with lots of action. Although a little slow to start, as soon as the action kicked in, it didn't let up until the very end. What a fun, adventurous book for young readers!
    • 4/5
      This book focuses on a twelve year old boy named David Junior or as he is more commonly called DJ. DJ takes a trip with his grandfather to Central America where the stays with his grandfather's friend, Juan, and his granddaughter, Alejandra. David and Alejandra's grandfathers both leave on the first day and then a break in occurs while they are gone, causing Alejandra and David to have to flee on a wild adventure. Jungle Land is well written for its target age group. It's language is simple and will allow children to read quickly and not one interest. It is a fast-paced adventure filled with danger and set in an interesting environment. There is a new threat at every turn and Eric Walters does a good job holding your interest. It is fairly realistic with nothing that makes seems terribly far-fetched. Eric Walters is also one of the best authors I have ever read who is able to disguise learning and facts in his writing. While his readers will come out most likely having learned something, there is only one part in the entire book that really makes you feel like your reading something from a textbook. Whereas many other children's books become boring as you try to read through a list of facts you don't care about (I'm looking at you Rush Revere books). The kids who read this will come out having learned a lot about Central America's culture and wildlife. I would definitely recommend this to elementary school kids and maybe even some middle school grades. Parents and teachers can be confident the will learn something without being weighted down with a bunch off pointless numbers. Also most of the violence in the book is minimal, with much of the protagonist's fears being something they believe could happen not what actually happened. There is a small amount of shooting, but only at an animal.Also one character does end up with two broken fingers, but he is an unnamed fisherman. All of the language is appropriate for kids with no swearing. One of the pitfalls to this book is that the characters aren't very interesting and can be a little bland, but I don't think this would bother most of Eric's target age group anyways. Overall I would recommend this book to elementary schoolers, especially boys. However there is some romance in the novel which may help to appeal to girl readers. Unfortunately I think for most people in their teens or beyond this book won't hold much interest.
    • 3/5
      D.J. and his grandfather fly into Central America for their first adventure together. I have not read the Seven Series or the The Seven Sequels Series; this is the first book in what will become The Seven Prequels Series. For children who have read and loved either of the first two series, this will no doubt become another beloved series. I am a 63 year old grandmother who hasn't read children's literature seriously for many years (my grandson is just 2) so my opinion is not that of an expert. I found the first three chapters a little slow and the first person perspective a little adult for what was supposed to be the musings of a 12 year old boy. Unfortunately I'm afraid some of the boys in Walters target audience might give up before the adventurous fast-paced portion of the book comes at chapter 6. If the kids stay the course, I believe boys will enjoy reading about the escape of DJ and Alejandra and their encounters with men with guns, caimans, and jaguars in the jungle and along the river. The ending might undo their enthusiasm however. A quick read it took me just an hour or two to finish. I would recommend it for boys in the 9 to 12 age group.
    • 4/5
      I received Jungle Land by Eric Walters through LTER . Twelve year old DJ is going on an adventure with his much loved grandfather to Central America. The book focuses on the importance of family, friendship and trust. I would recommend this novel for the 4-6th grade age group, beyond that I feel that it would not hold the interest of the YA crowd.
    • 4/5
      I received this advance reading copy of Eric Walter's book, Jungle Land, from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. DJ loves spending time with his grandfather, even though it means facing one of his biggest fears, flying. Together, they fly his Grandfather's small 4 seater Cessna to Central America in the hopes of reconnecting with an old friend of his grandfather's. DJ soon learns that nothing is ever as it seems and things quickly take a turn for the worse. DJ and his young hostess, Alejandra soon find themselves driven deep into the unforgiving jungle when they are relentlessly pursued by a group of angry, gun-wielding kidnappers. Gunmen, jaguars, poisonous snakes and crocodile infested waters keep DJ and Alejandra surviving by their very wits as they run for their lives. With danger at every turn and the kidnappers closing in, DJ soon learns that he is stronger than he knew, and the secrets that his Grandfather keeps are much deeper than he could have ever imagined.An adventure packed story for young readers in grades 5 or possibly 5, but not likely to capture the interest of older readers. A quick read from the Seven prequels series.
    • 4/5
      DJ goes on an adventure with his grandfather to Central America. His grandfather is an importer/ exporter with his own plane, they go to see a friend of the grandfather, also an importer/ exporter in the jungle. When Canadian DJ sees the castle, the walls, the armed guards, the servants, he knows he’s not in Ontario anymore. His host brings with him his granddaughter with an overactive imagination, and they really go on an adventure. This is MG book for kids who like Gary Paulson’s Brian books, like Hatchet, or Julie of the Wolves. This ARC came from Library Thing 7.25.16 Thanks Library Thing!

    Book preview

    Jungle Land - Eric Walters

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    ONE

    I startled, and my head jerked up. I was suddenly fully awake, surrounded by blue sky and a few fluffy white clouds, sitting in the copilot seat of an airplane. On the sound system was Frank Sinatra—doing it his way.

    Did you have a nice nap, DJ? my grandfather asked.

    I just sort of drifted off…sorry.

    That’s okay. I fell asleep myself for a bit.

    I gasped. You did!

    He chuckled, and I realized he was joking.

    Of course, this baby is equipped with autopilot, so I guess I could drift off for a while and we’d be none the worse for wear, he said.

    Still, I should have stayed awake to keep you company.

    It’s a long flight, and I think the purring of the engines can lull you to sleep, he said.

    Yeah, it’s very, um, restful.

    What I didn’t say was that I was unnerved by yesterday’s flight—which had been very bumpy—and I hadn’t gotten too much sleep last night. We’d been in the air for most of yesterday, stopping first in Jacksonville, Florida, and then flying on to Cancun, Mexico, where we’d spent the night. We’d left Cancun early, and we’d been in the air now for almost five hours. It was a long way to Central America from Ontario.

    The little orange motion-sickness pill I took every time I flew didn’t help me stay awake. Despite the many times I’d been in the air with my grandfather, I still felt sick to my stomach every time. He didn’t know I got airsick. He didn’t know I took medication every time I flew with him. Only my mother knew. I thought my grandfather would be disappointed in me if he knew. My mother said he’d understand, but she still kept my secret.

    My grandfather loved flying—probably even more than I hated it. And because I loved being with him, I didn’t want him to know how I really felt about flying. I must have been a pretty good actor, because he didn’t seem to.

    There’s not much to see out there right now, Grandpa said.

    I looked out and down. Beneath us was the Pacific Ocean, glistening in the bright sunlight. I looked all around, trying to find a hint of land, but there was nothing on the horizon. That, of course, meant there was no place to land if there was an emergency. Thank goodness for twin engines.

    I guess I should just take it as a compliment that you have such faith in my flying that you can go to sleep, he said.

    You know I have complete faith in you! I said.

    That was no lie. My grandpa wasn’t just my grandpa. He wasn’t just somebody I loved. He was somebody I really, really liked and looked up to.

    He had been flying for over fifty years. He had flown combat missions in the war and had piloted little planes around the world before he settled down to run a successful import/export business. Of course, that had put him in the air all the time, and my mother told us stories about how much he was gone while she and her sisters were little.

    He’d had only daughters—four of them—and those daughters had had only sons—six of us. My mother joked that we were the sons he’d never had. And I guess he was sort of the father I’d lost.

    Grandpa owned his own plane. It was a four-seat, single-engine Cessna. Although it had a range of a thousand kilometers, he used it mainly for short flights—just for going for a spin, as he put it. I’d been up for dozens and dozens of spins. Logically, I knew that he was a great pilot and that the Cessna was one of the safest, most reliable planes in the world. Still, even the safest, most reliable planes with the best pilots did crash.

    He’d borrowed a Piper Chieftain from a friend for this trip. It was a lot bigger than Grandpa’s own plane and could seat eight people. It also had two engines. The odds of both engines on a plane dying were really, really small. I knew because I’d looked it up.

    I thought my grandfather would have been happier in his Cessna, but he had arranged to use this plane because it had more range, and we were going a long way. This time we weren’t just going for a spin. We were going on what he called a real flight.

    Flying all the way to Central America was more flight than I wanted, but it was all part of the adventure. This was much, much more than a flight. This was a special adventure my grandpa had arranged just for me and him. He had decided he was going to take each of his grandsons on a trip.

    Originally, it was going to happen when each of us turned sixteen, but Grandpa had decided that he was getting too old to wait that long. So here I was, not quite thirteen, the oldest of the grandsons, and the first to go on one of the adventures.

    This is perfect weather, he said. The sky is clear and the flying flat.

    That was his way of saying that we hadn’t been bumped or jostled. I was grateful. I hated turbulence, and we’d had nothing but turbulence the day before.

    I know it’s going to worry your mother that we’ll be out of cell-phone range when we land and won’t be able to contact her, Grandpa said.

    She worries.

    He chuckled. She does worry, there’s no question about that. I was afraid she was going to be too worried to allow us this little adventure.

    She worries about me going to the store, I said.

    I guess I understand. I still worry about my girls even though they’re grown-ups with kids of their own.

    Grandpa had raised his girls by himself. His wife, my grandmother, had died when the girls were young, and he’d had to care for them by himself. Maybe that was why he had been there so much after my father died—he knew how hard it was to be a single parent.

    His being around was probably why Grandpa was so much more than a grandpa to us. He was there all the time at games and school concerts and graduations. I liked that a lot. He was there for all the grandchildren, but I think maybe even more for me and my twin brother, Steve.

    And while I’d never say this out loud, especially to Steve, I thought maybe I was his favorite of all the grandkids. After all, I was the first grandchild, and I was the one named after him—David. DJ was just a family nickname that was shorthand for David Junior. And I thought maybe Steve was starting to realize as well that I was Grandpa’s favourite.

    I was the older twin brother—by fifteen minutes. I couldn’t believe how much of a difference those fifteen minutes made between us.

    Since technically I was the oldest, I was the first grandson to go on the trip. I knew Steve was mad about my going before him. Not that he had to say it. Twins naturally understand a lot of what the other is thinking or feeling without having to use words.

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