Sixteen-year-old Poppy doesn't mind responsibility.
So when Poppy's widowed dad leaves her and her brother while he helps fight a distant wildfire, she's confident she can manage. Her brother Jed has a disability and sometimes needs support, but there's plenty to keep them both busy around the house and the farm. They'll be fine. Then the wind changes and the wildfire heads straight for the farm. With no word from their dad, Poppy and Jed know they should get to safety, but what will they do with the farm animals? As the air fills with smoke and flames flicker on the horizon, Poppy and Jed must gather their unlucky collection of animals and make a desperate escape.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don't like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Key Selling Points
• Siblings Poppy and Jed work together to save the farm animals when a wildfire comes close to their house.
• Explores family dynamics as well as themes of facing fears, survival and teamwork.
• Although Jed is the older brother, he has an intellectual disability and Poppy takes responsibility for him.
• The story follows the gripping journey of the siblings as they flee their home with the farm animals-eight ewes, a sheepdog, a horse, twelve chickens and a bad-tempered donkey.
• Set in the farming area east of Vancouver.
• A relevant story about a wildfire that comes close to homes and farms and the unpredictability and speed at which fires can spread and become more dangerous.
• Gabrielle Prendergast has written seven other hi-lo titles, as well as books in other genres, including the award-winning Zero Repeat Forever, a fast-paced sci-fi fantasy.
• Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.
In this high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, sixteen-year-old Poppy and her brother are home alone when a nearby wildfire builds and threatens to burn down their farm.
Gabrielle Prendergast is the award-winning author of numerous books for children and teens. She won the BC Book Prize for her YA sci-fi novel Zero Repeat Forever and the Westchester Award for her YA novel Audacious. After years of working in social welfare and the music and film industries, Gabrielle began writing books when she became a mother, so she could work from home. She is the author of Aftershock and Flash Flood in the Orca Anchor series. Gabrielle lives in East Vancouver in a permanent state of "under construction." Orca Anchor books are short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level. Will they survive the blaze?
"The action is compelling…a fast-paced, exciting survival tale for reluctant readers."
