Thunder Cave

This book has the dumbest looking cover ever, hence the reason NONE of my students would read it last year. I even had a hard time starting it! But once I did, it was excellent. Jacob goes on a quest to Kenya in search of his zoologist father who is trying to save elephants from poaching. He is a sm......more

When Mrs. Buchwald first showed me the book I didn't think I was going to like it. But when I read the first sentence I was automatically hooked. I read it in one day. I fell in love with all of Roland Smith. Thanks! Mrs. Buchwald......more

Elements and Style: Roland Smith creates a great vocab by using some of the native language of Kenya, Africa which is the main setting in this book. Twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing till the end of the book. Roland hooked me into the book at the very beginning by starting the book off w......more

Thunder Cave is by Roland Smith. Roland, like fellow authors Ben Mickelsen and Will Hobbs, started writing with the idea of getting middle school boys to read and to like it. His books take boys on various adventures. This one takes Jake to Kenya. Jake’s father was a field biologist who was in Kenya......more

After Jacob's mother dies after a tragic accident, his stepfather is going to send him to live with his uncle. Jacob has other plans and instead runs away to a journey in Kenya to find his father. I struggled with this book. The writing was entirely unemotional. It lacked the writing that I generally......more