Saving of Valiant Blue Heron Book

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Harms II grew up in Palm Beach County, Florida when there were still wild areas left in the county. Many of his stories originate from his experiences as a young boy. During that time, he could be alone in a forest and enjoy the animals. Manatees and sea grasses were plentiful in the waterways by his home and deserted coconut plantations gave him a tropical background for his stories. He spent his days having adventures even, catching mullet by hand to sell to fishermen for lunch money.

Graduating from University College at the University of Florida, he went on to design and patent filtration equipment to help purify water and other liquids, all the while compiling his adventures. His stories help encourage people to care about their environment and have fun too. He is currently serving as Vice President of the Florida Publishers Association.

His life is shared with his wife, three children, three dogs, countless fish, one bird, one cat, and many turtles.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4The second in a series of books about a boy's adventures saving Florida animals, this is an amateurish attempt to educate through storytelling. Through short, choppy sentences and unnatural dialogue, Buster's brief tale unfolds as he encounters the animals that live near his south Florida home. When he sees a great blue heron with an arrow in its wing, he decides to capture it and take it to a local veterinarian for rehabilitation. The named animals talk, and Buster is in turn foolish (he believes he can fish like the birds) and insightful (he knows a wounded heron will be easy prey for bobcats). A few words, italicized in the text, appear in a brief glossary that includes terms unrelated to the topic at hand. The lush, colorful portraits of natural Florida that literally burst out of their frames are more successful than the text, although the few illustrations of humans are stiff and flat. An informative afterword describes the life of a great blue, but for information on the natural world in story format, look to talented writers such as Jonathan London and Joanne Ryder.Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL