Bryce and Zion: Danger in the Narrows (Adventures with the Parkers)
Grade 5-8–James and Morgan Parker, 10-year-old twins, set off to southern Utah to explore Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park with their parents, who had worked at Zion when they were in college. This adventure story is filled with interesting information about the parks, pictures, maps, and diagrams that help explain the landscape, climate, and topography of the area. The family members each keep a journal and the various entries help to personalize their experiences. They help to rescue an injured woman hiking, encounter a rattlesnake, and must split up to perform their own missions to help Mr. Parker, who slips and falls in the Narrows during a rainstorm. Graf is clear about the cautions that must be exercised when camping and hiking in wilderness areas. The events that the Parkers experience are realistic and quite common, and the full-color photos are spectacular. An appealing array of nature sketches and depictions of the Parkers in action also appears throughout. At the conclusion of the story, Morgan and James list their top 10 places to see for each park, which could serve as a helpful list for families planning a trip.–Delia Carruthers, Sunset Ridge Middle School, West Jordan, UTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.