Bella Bella

by Jonathan London, Sean London (Illustrator)

Overview

From best-selling author Jonathan London comes BELLA BELLA, the heart-pounding sequel to DESOLATION CANYON. In this story for young readers, the same cast of characters—thirteen-year-olds Aaron and Lisa and their fathers, and seventeen-year-old Cassidy and his dad—embark on a sea kayaking trip through the Inside Passage that brings them unexpected and even terrifying adventures. Young readers will eagerly follow Aaron’s adventures in this suspenseful page turner, as he learns to navigate a kayak, discovers another side to a bully, shares a first kiss, encounters the desperate world of human trafficking, and challenges an evil smuggler who threatens the entire group.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943328291
Publisher:	Graphic Arts Books
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Series:	Aaron's Wilderness , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 13 Years

About the Author

Jonathan London has written more than one hundred picture books for children, many of them about wildlife. He is also the author of the popular Froggy series. He lives with his wife in northern California. www.jonathan-london.net Sean London received a BFA from CalArts in Character Animation and has done animation for Disney. DESOLATION CANYON is his first illustrated book. Look for PUP THE SEA OTTER, a forthcoming collaboration with his father, Jonathan London.
Sean London received a BFA from CalArts in Character Animation and has done animation for Disney. DESOLATION CANYON is his first illustrated book. Look for LITTLE DRAGON AND HIS MAGIC UNDERWEAR, a forthcoming collaboration with his father, Jonathan London.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER TEN: THE SEA WOLF Cassidy swore. Lisa grabbed my arm—or did I grab hers? The Sea Wolf moved slowly against the low stars. How did they know we were here? The smoke from our fire! They must have seen it from miles away. Luckily the fire had long been drowned by the tide, and our kayaks were drawn up into the forest, hidden from the sea. We held still. Silent. The boat rose and fell with the swells and motored slowly down the beach. I was about to relax when it turned around, just beyond the surf, and the spotlight slid across the sand again. But even if they wanted to, how could they land their fishing boat in this surf? The answer soon came. They dropped anchor— maybe two soccer fields away down the beach and about half that far out—and lowered a dinghy from their stern deck. Three men climbed into it, and one manned the oars and pointed the small boat toward shore. It bobbed through the surf, and for a moment I thought it would capsize. But whoever handled it knew what he was doing. When they were close enough, in the backwash of the rollers, all three men managed to scramble out and splash ashore. Above them, a bone-white moon floated toward the west. I gasped. Each man held a weapon at the ready: one a rifle, the other two spearguns. Moonlight glinted off the metal. Proof! I thought. Proof of what I had thought all along: these were bad guys. Smugglers. My whole body clenched up. How do you breathe when it feels like life as you know it is about to end? When life, period, is about to end? The three men stopped halfway up the beach, then split up. One of the speargun men headed down the beach; the other two came toward us. The two men with spearguns flicked on flashlights at the same time, walking in opposite directions. The leader gripped his rifle, sweeping it side-to-side, sighting through an ultraviolet scope, which would make his targets glow in the dark. Cassidy swore again, crouched down beside me. Lisa said nothing, but I could hear her grinding her teeth. I thought of the Swiss Army knife in my pants pocket. I thought of Lisa’s pepper spray. And I thought about how they would do against two spearguns and a rifle. My heart raced, but time stood still.

Table of Contents

Chapter One How Hard Can It Be? Chapter Two Down to the Sea in Kayaks Chapter Three First Nations Chapter Four Wolf! Chapter Five Dinner for a Sea Wolf Chapter Six Gunshots at Dawn Chapter Seven Gooey Duck Divers Chapter Eight Pirates Chapter Nine The Rogue of Tide Rip Pass Chapter Ten The Sea Wolf Chapter Eleven The Root People Chapter Twelve The Skull Chapter Thirteen Burial Island Chapter Fourteen Cat and Mouse Chapter Fifteen The Barrel of a Gun Chapter Sixteen The Kidnappers Chapter Seventeen The Big Knife Chapter Eighteen Captain Evil Chapter Nineteen Go Go Go Go! Chapter Twenty Bella Bella Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

"In this novel, London once again delivers an infectious blend of action, science, and tween romance to readers of all ages. The author’s son, Sean, also returns with gorgeous illustrations accompanying the narrative’s truly magical moments, like when orcas “swam right between our kayaks, their dorsal fins slicing the surface!” Aaron’s growing pains are visible not only regarding his crush on Lisa, but also whenever his father applauds Cassidy (Aaron thinks: “It was like a needle stuck in my skin hearing my dad praise him like that”). After presenting various opinions, the book addresses the central conflict of poor refugees seeking better lives thoroughly and compassionately. Aaron endears himself to audiences, not by being an awkward kid but a blossoming young man.

An impressive sequel about an aquatic journey that stands on its own while building on the first trip." —Kirkus Reviews

"In 'Bella Bella', thirteen-year-olds Aaron and Lisa and their fathers, and seventeen-year-old Cassidy and his dad, all embark on a sea kayaking trip through the Inside Passage that brings them unexpected and even terrifying adventures. Children ages 8 to 13, and students in grades 4 to 7, will eagerly follow Aaron's adventures in this suspenseful page turner, as he learns to navigate a kayak, discovers another side to a bully, shares a first kiss, encounters the desperate world of human trafficking, and challenges an evil smuggler who threatens the entire group. The sequel to author Jonathan London's outstanding children's novel 'Desolation Canyon', 'Bella Bella' is very highly recommended for both school and community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that 'Bella Bella' is also available in a paperback edition and in a Kindle format." —Children's Bookwatch

From the Publisher

2016-05-03
London (Foggy Goes to the Library, 2015, etc.) resumes the middle-grade adventures of his boating enthusiasts, this time along the Pacific Northwest coast. Last year in Desolation Canyon, three Desert Storm veterans brought their teenage children together for a rafting trip down the Green River in Utah. Now 13-year-old Aaron and his dad rejoin Roger (and his 13-year-old daughter, Lisa) and Willie (who brings his 17-year-old son, Cassidy). They embark from the First Nations village of Bella Bella on a 10-day trip around Queen's Sound, along the coast of British Columbia, in sea kayaks. Aaron is thrilled to see Lisa, on whom he has a crush. He's less happy encountering Cassidy, since the former juvenile delinquent enjoys roughhousing with him and flirting with Lisa. Over 10 days, the group hopes to explore the coast's many islands, see wildlife, and learn about First Nations tribes, like the Heiltsuk. It becomes quite a different trip when they hear gunshots one morning from a ship named the Sea Wolf. The Chinese fishermen are gathering geoduck clams, occasionally firing their guns to scare sea lions from the catch. After speaking with Wong, the diver, the group begins paddling away—and hears a thump and a cry within the Sea Wolf's hull. Later, Aaron overhears the adults telling Cassidy that the ship may be transporting illegal immigrants from China to Vancouver. In this novel, London once again delivers an infectious blend of action, science, and tween romance to readers of all ages. The author's son, Sean, also returns with gorgeous illustrations accompanying the narrative's truly magical moments, like when orcas "swam right between our kayaks, their dorsal fins slicing the surface!" Aaron's growing pains are visible not only regarding his crush on Lisa, but also whenever his father applauds Cassidy (Aaron thinks: "It was like a needle stuck in my skin hearing my dad praise him like that"). After presenting various opinions, the book addresses the central conflict of poor refugees seeking better lives thoroughly and compassionately. Aaron endears himself to audiences, not by being an awkward kid but a blossoming young man. An impressive sequel about an aquatic journey that stands on its own while building on the first trip.

Kirkus Reviews