Sparrow Hawk Red

Sparrow Hawk Red by Ben Mikaelsen

I just finished this book this morning. -- I have to admitt that I've been taking a break from some of my reading, and this week I finally dove back in and cranked off 3 under 200 page books.
So, if any of you grade six students have caught the flying bug after learning all about flight and then going up in the plane this year - this might be a great book for you, cause it's all about a kid who has been flying with his Dad, learning about planes and learning stunts.

Here's the summary:
When thirteen-year-old Ricky Diaz discovers that his mother was actually murdered by drug dealers, he's desperate for revenge. But his father, a former drug enforcement agent, refuses the mission the DEA now offers: to steal an airplane with an American made radar detector that the cartel uses to smuggle drugs from Mexico.
Angry with his father for throwing away the chance to avenge his mother,Ricky decides to take matters into his own hands - he will steal the plane. He runs away to Mexico, disguising himself as one of the many rateros, or homeless children in hopes of gaining access to the drug ring.

Great non-fiction books guys should try

First to Fly: how Wilbur and Orville Wright invented the airplane by Peter Busby

I was watching a thing on the Discovery channel the other night and it made me think about flight, inventors, trial and error and persistance - which then made me think about this book. This is a terrific short non-fiction book with really good illustrations that documents the accomplishment of the Wright brothers and their adventures in inventing and discovering what we now relie on as a another form of transporation - the airplane.

This book also includes web-sites, a timeline, glossary of terms and an index.
So the next time your watching Discovery channel or spot that jet stream up in the sky think how curious the Wright brothers must have been to pursue such a crazy dream, and that maybe some of the crazy stuff you dream up might not be that crazy afterall.