SKUNK SCOUT

To ten-year-old Teddy, camping can take a hike, as it were, especially when he has to go with his science whiz, know-it-all younger brother Bobby and bumbling Uncle Curtis.

Nature’s a bore to Teddy. Give him a triple feature and the sights, sounds, and smells of his neighborhood, San Francisco’s Chinatown, any day. Yet surprises are in store for doubting Teddy. He learns a lot about himself and his uncle and actually develops an appreciation for nature—although not the skunk that ends up in the trio’s tent at the climax. There’s enough for young readers to appreciate here. It’s a quick, painless read and offers up gentle humor. Bobby really is a know-it-all, though, and will strike many readers as too good and too knowledgeable to be entirely credible for his age.

A minor effort from Yep.