Gordon, Nick. Ice Road Trucker.

Gordon, Nick.  Ice Road Trucker.  Scholastic Press    2013  24p   $23.00      ISBN 978-0-531-27606-8  elem  series: Dangerous Jobs  VG-BNes

This high-interest, low-reading-level title is all about the dangers an ice-road trucker faces.  The only statement about why anyone does this job is at the end of the text: “It is necessary to get supplies to hard-to-reach areas.”  The illustrations are attention-getting and well matched to the text.  Driver error dangers, conditions of the road, and weather conditions each make the life of a trucker on the ice roads dangerous.  Only one example of an accidental death is mentioned, but in several places the impending possibility is referred to as well.

There is a glossary of terms that were highlighted in the text.  The books listed as sources for further information includes Arctic Trucker, a title written for more capable readers. The web resource is the publisher’s sponsored site, called “Factsurfer.”  The index is adequate for the text.

This title will attract boys, and is geared for those needing a simpler vocabulary.  It would be an excellent addition to an elementary-school library.

So far, there are 11 titles in the Dangerous Jobs series.  Each title focuses on a job filled with inherent danger.  They are issued under the Hi-Lo Torque imprint for elementary-school readers.

Arctic trucking                                                   --Joan Theal