Eastside Series - Book Two
by
The underground world of gophers and owls collide in this urban tale of mystery and friendships. Bernard, a young gopher from the urban Eastside gopher town sets out to find his missing grandfather. An abandoned tunnel leads Bernard to the forbidden realm of the Blackguard - a secretive group of military owls. Not only is grandfather in the hands of the Blackguard but Bernard learns of the Blackguard's plan to attack his gopher town.Can Bernard save both? All seems lost until he meets Oliver, a rejected Blackguard trainee. Together, they form an alliance that will change their lives.
Chester’s Secret
Under the streetlights and a bright full moon, Chester ran to the far end of his gopher town. He glanced around and scampered down a pop hole.
It’s cold as owls’ eyes down here, thought Chester, happy to be wearing his fur-lined vest and cap. He squeezed his body farther down the tunnel.
The elderly gopher had something special to do, and it was a secret. Spring had come early to eastside gopher town, and the feel of fresh-thawed earth made Chester smile.
“Bernard will be so surprised.” He chuckled.
READ MOREBernard, Chester’s grandson, was near full grown. Bernard would soon have his assignment and would be leaving. Then there would be only Chester and Marta, Bernard’s grandmother, left in their big old burrow. Chester remembered when the Tagfoot burrow had been home to many more scampering paws.
Chester’s thoughts took him back two seasons earlier. The spring rains began. Day after day, it rained. The Tagfoots had gotten low on food. When they could wait no longer, Bernard, the biggest among the pups, went above ground with his father and his grandfather to look for squirrel caches.
The rain fell in sheets as the three gophers poked their heads out of the tunnel. They jumped out and sunk their paws into spongy, wet grass. Slogging through belly deep water, they reached the first tree, where they knew the local squirrels often stored their nuts. Bernard’s father studied the ground and sniffed the air. The wind was loud in their ears.
“This isn’t good,” shouted Bernard’s father through the rain. “The water is rising too fast. It’ll soon flood the burrow. Pa, you and Bernard climb as high as you can up this tree. I’m going back to get Celeste and the pups.”
COLLAPSEon Kirkus Reviews:"Like “Zounds!” in Othello or “Gallopin’ Gorgons!” in the Harry Potter books, mild oaths abound in Bernard and the Blackguard, the second book in Creston author Maureen Young’s Eastside Series written for kids at the chapter books age.
The oaths are a nice touch, dramatic as well as fun—“Great eagle wings!,” “Snake’s breath!,” “Goose gizzards!”
Lester, a chatty comical narcissist who is by his own account “a seasoned traveler and explorer,” “quite famous” and, “a hero,” exclaims, “Ravens’ eggs!” When elderly Chester find himself lost and then in “a world of trouble,” he responds with “Bats’ breath!”
"A charming tale of adventure and friendship."
