Oonawassee Summer

Oonawassee Summer is a fabulous book! My fourth grade students simply loved it! It is chalked full of knowledge about Florida and life on the river. My students' related with the book's two young characters,Addie and Tanner. They loved the sense of adventure and all the mystery and suspense. A definite must read for children ages 8-12. You will never feel the same about dangling your feet off a pier into murky river water again.

As a Florida native having spent some time on the rivers in the backwoods, I relived the sights, sounds, smells and excitment of discovering Florida's natural treasures with Addie and Tanner at Uncle Henry's bait shop on the Oonawasee! Melissa Forney captures with lucious details the same kinds of people and places I remember from my childhood visits to the river. Her story gives life to the REAL Florida which is rapidly disappearing. Teachers will love the story's vivid descriptions for classroom reading, along with the wonderful illustrated glossary of fabulous Florida facts!

As a Florida native having spent some time on the rivers in the backwoods, I re-lived the sights, sounds, smells and excitment of discovering Florida's natural treasures with Addie and Tanner at Uncle Henry's bait shop on the Oonawasee! Melissa Fourney captures with lucious details the same kinds of people and places I remember from my childhood visits to the river. Her story gives life to the REAL Florida which is rapidly disappearing. Teachers will love the story's vivid descriptions for classroom reading, along with the wonderful illustrated glossary of fabulous Florida facts!

In Oonawassee Summer, Addie and Tanner (two twelve-year-old cousins) are spending the summer with their grandma and great-uncle on the backs of the Oonawassee River in Southern Florida. That is where they engage in exploration, discovery, and find intrigue and adventure. Although the river is fictional, Melissa Forney's fun and engaging novel is enhanced with a wealth of factual information about jon boats, river otters, cypress trees, herons, alligators, cast nets, and other fascinating details of life in southern Florida. Highly recommended reading for boys and girls ages 8 to 12.