Timberwolf Revenge

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

These short chapter books in the Orca Echoes series feature Johnny
Maverick, a centre for the Howling Timberwolves hockey team. In
Timberwolf Chase, Tom Morgan has just moved from Toronto, where he
played on a winning elite team, to the small community of Howling,
Alberta. In order for Howling to ice a team, virtually every boy around
needs to suit up; consequently, many of them fall below the calibre that
Tom is used to playing with. In particular, Tom, the Timberwolves’
other centre, elects to pick on his overweight left winger, Stu Duncan,
whom Tom calls a “whale.” While Stu seems capable of handling
Tom’s taunts, Johnny comes to his rescue by creating a new version of
the tortoise-and-hare race, which requires Stu to quit the team if he
loses.

In the sequel, Timberwolf Revenge, while the Timberwolves are playing
in a tournament in Calgary, Tom makes Johnny the butt of one of his
pranks. Johnny then pulls a prank on Tom in order to get even. The cycle
continues and escalates, with Stu warning Johnny that “revenge is
never a good idea.” In both books, Johnny and Tom eventually learn a
life lesson.

Though the books’ covers suggest their contents will be hockey-based,
more game action is to be found in Timberwolf Revenge. Numerous
illustrations, mostly full-page, break up the text and speed readers’
progress through the light-fare stories. Fans of the Brady Brady...
picture books, now ready for chapter books, will enjoy these titles.
Both books are recommended.