Oregon Spirit Book Award
May 29, 2016
Dear Bryn, Hello!
It is my pleasure to write and inform you that Cassie & Jasper To the Rescue has been named a Winner in the Middle Reader category of the Oregon Spirit Book Award for 2015 by the Oregon Council of Teachers of English.
Congratulations! The Oregon Spirit Book Award is given yearly to the author of a distinguished contribution to picture books, middle reader, young adult, graphic novels, or non-fiction literature (one winner per category) that engages and encourages readers’ imagination, discovery, and understanding, reflecting the spirit and values help by Oregonians. Complete criteria are located on the OCTE website: http://www.octe.org/oregon-spirit-book-award.html. They specify that Honor Books may also be named. The Oregon Council of Teachers of English is an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English. The Oregon Council has been in existence since 1913; the award was established in 2005…
Congratulations to you and to the editors and publisher of this fine book! I met you and had a copy of Cassie & Jasper To the Rescue autographed at the Oregon Historical Society author book-signing last year. I look forward to seeing you again!
Warm Regards,
Dorothy Courtox, Co-chair OCTE Spirit Book Award
Kirkus Reviews
KIRKUS REVIEW
Cassie and Jasper try to save an abused horse in this tense and heroic little adventure.
Twelve-year-old Cassie doesn’t always do what she should, but she follows her heart. She finds school tedious, and her sass often gets her in trouble. Her passion is working the ranch with Pa, although Cassie is still raw from the passing of her mother two years before. Then Cassie’s friend Jasper takes her to see an older horse, Glory, that’s being starved and neglected by a cruel rancher. Intensely empathetic Cassie cannot resist her desire to save Glory: “All my life I’d felt like that, like an animal’s pain was my own.” They hatch a rescue plan, but as brave as their efforts are, they don’t pause to consider other options, which lands them in a very dangerous situation. Set in an unspecified time uncluttered by cellphones and the Internet, this compassionate adventure plays out, its underlying theme of the value of education helping to change Cassie’s attitude.
Paced at a smooth canter and tugging at the heartstrings, this slim tale is a call to action for middle-grade animal lovers. (Adventure. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 1st, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-88240-992-4
Page count: 128pp
Publisher: WestWinds Press
Review Posted Online: March 31st, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15th, 2014
San Diego Book Review
“That horse has to be rescued and we’re the ones to do it. I don’t care if Pa grounds me until I’m eighteen, as long as we save Glory.”
Aboy named Jasper sees a really skinny horse with overgrown hooves apparently locked up in a corral. He knows the horse is being mistreated so he makes up a plan to go with his female friend Cassidy to rescue the horse. Meanwhile, Cassidy is also having problems at school that she has to try to solve.
Cassidy & Jasper to the Rescue by Bryn Fleming is part of the Range Riders series of books. The characters here are well-developed and fun. They both have their own personalities. They are presented as helpful and smart and able to figure out ways out of problems although their solutions are not always very realistic. The book starts off slowly but starts picking up around chapter 2 and remains very interesting to the conclusion. The book is written in a way that is easy to understand. It is a shorter chapter book without any pictures or drawings. The plotline moves along very well. If the reader is not familiar with the horse-related words used in the book, there is a glossary in the back of the book defining some of them.
This book would be good for people ages 8 and up whether or not they’ve read the other stories in the Range Riders series.
Children’s Book Council is featuring CASSIE AND JASPER as part of their Seasonal Showcase – All Kinds of Families: “This summer, we’re showcasing books about different kinds of families and the things they do together! Whether it’s learning about where different families come from, what trips they go on, or what they do at home, these books will give you inspiration about what you can do with your own family this summer.”
MBR: Children’s Bookwatch, November 2015
James A. Cox, Editor-in-ChiefDiane C. Donovan, EditorMidwest Book Review 278 Orchard Drive Oregon, WI 53575-1129 phone: 1-608-835-7937 e-mail: mbr@execpc.com e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.comhttp://www.midwestbookreview.com
MIDWESTBOOKREVIEW.COM
Jasper and Willie: Wildfire
Bryn Fleming
WestWinds Press
c/o Graphic Arts Books
PO Box 56118, Portland, OR 97238-6118
www.graphicartsbooks.com
9781941821923, $28.99, 130pp, www.amazon.com
Life on his family’s Central Oregon ranch is pretty good for shy, bookish Jasper, except for two problems. He longs for a dog of his own and he is a target for the school bully, Colton. For Jasper’s twelfth birthday he is allowed to choose a dog from the local shelter, and he feels an intense bond with Willie, an old dog whose blind eyes seem to see into Jasper’s heart. Jasper has faith in his new companion, Willie, even though he is nothing like Colton’s dog, the fastest agility racing dog in the county. At the County Fair that year, Colton’s little sister disappears from the fairgrounds as wildfires rage nearby. Will Jasper and Willie be able to help find the girl in time and prove Willie’s worth to the others? The newest addition to the outstanding ‘Range Rider’ series by Bryn Fleming, “Jasper and Willie: Wildfire” is a terrifically entertaining read from beginning to end and especially commended to the attention of young readers ages 8 to 12. “Jasper and Willie: Wildfire” is very highly recommended for school and community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that “Jasper and Willie: Wildfire” is also available in a paperback edition (9781941821718, $9.99) and in a Kindle format ($9.49).
Children’s Book Council is featuring Jasper and Willie in their Good vs. Evil Seasonal Showcase
SEASONAL SHOWCASE:
AGES 8 to 12
ISBN: 9781941821695
PRICE: $9.99
PUBLISHED BY: Graphic Arts Books
Jasper and Willie: Wildfire
by Bryn Fleming
Life on his family’s Central Oregon ranch is pretty good for shy, bookish Jasper, except for two problems. He longs for a dog of his own and he is a target for the school bully, Colton. For Jasper’s twelfth birthday he is allowed to choose a dog from the local shelter, and he feels an intense bond with Willie, an old dog whose blind eyes seem to see into Jasper s heart. Jasper has faith in his new companion, Willie, even though he is nothing like Colton’s dog, the fastest agility racing dog in the county. At the County Fair that year, Colton’s little sister disappears from the fairgrounds as wildfires rage nearby. Will Jasper and Willie be able to help find the girl in time and prove Willie s worth to the others?
The full review:
Life on his family’s Central Oregon ranch is pretty good for shy, bookish Jasper, except for two problems. He longs for a dog of his own and he is a target for the school bully, Colton.
For Jasper’s twelfth birthday he is allowed to choose a dog from the local shelter, and he feels an intense bond with Willie, an old dog whose blind eyes seem to see into Jasper’s heart. Jasper has faith in his new companion, Willie, even though he is nothing like Colton’s dog, the fastest agility racing dog in the county.
At the County Fair that year, Colton’s little sister disappears from the fairgrounds as wildfires rage nearby. Will Jasper and Willie be able to help find the girl in time and prove Willie’s worth to the others?
The newest addition to the outstanding ‘Range Rider’ series by Bryn Fleming, “Jasper and Willie: Wildfire” is a terrifically entertaining read from beginning to end and especially commended to the attention of young readers ages 8 to 12.
