Eco Rangers: Pelican in peril by Candice Lemon-Scott

New Frontier, 2019. ISBN: 9781925594522. 101p.
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Eco Rangers is a colourful new mystery and conservation series. In Pelican in peril, we meet twelve year olds, Ebony and Jay, who like nothing better than exploring their local environment together on their bikes. On a routine ride to the beach, they discover both a nasty oil slick and a pelican covered in oil. The desperate children take Poseidon, to the conservation centre, where Dr Bat and Dr Tan are so impressed with their handling of the large bird, they are dubbed 'Eco Rangers'.
Cleaning up Poseidon to save him, is a steep learning curve but they soon master that and begin searching for an explanation for the disaster. The local media issue an apology for the spill from the cruise ship at the dock, but Ebony and Jay are suspicious when they overhear the Cruise manager talking about barrels of waste. Finding oil barrels in the dunes supports their suspicions and they board the ship to investigate the oil leak story.
Of course things don't go as planned and they wind up in deep trouble before being rescued - and not by the adults this time! Melding together narrative and information writing, middle school readers can make logical connections about the author's intention in plotting this informative adventure. Teacher's notes are available.
Young readers who are interested in the environment will learn how they can participate in conserving nature and wildlife. Candice Lemon-Scott's second book in the series, Microbat mayhem, is also currently available. Given the author's background as a trained wildlife carer, our two Eco Rangers are bound to meet new animal friends and learn more about their environment - all while collaborating to solve another mystery!
Deborah Robins