Jordan and Max, Field Trip! (Orca Echoes)

by Suzanne Sutherland (Author) Michelle Simpson (Illustrator)

Jordan and Max, Field Trip! (Orca Echoes)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Orca Echoes

It’s everyone’s favorite day of winter semester: the class field trip to the museum!

Jordan is excited to see the mummies and Max can’t wait for his first trip to the big city without his big sisters watching over him. But when Jordan gets distracted by an extraordinary costume display and Max flies off to the depths of the Bat Cave, the group carries on to lunch without them. Before the two friends know it, their class has left the museum and they’re all alone downtown!

Jordan knows they should find their classmates, but it’s hard to do the responsible thing when there is so much to do in the city. With Max at his side, the pair run wild: dancing alongside street musicians and tasting food from every single vendor they can find. Just when they think the day couldn’t get any more interesting, Jordan and Max find themselves in a strange neighborhood after dark where an even stranger ceremony is getting underway…a winter solstice celebration!

This is the second book from Suzanne Sutherland featuring Jordan and Max, following Jordan and Max: Showtime!

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School Library Journal

Gr 1-3--In this series sequel, odd-couple friends Jordan and Max are thrilled to go to the field trip to the museum downtown. Told to stick with the group, Jordan and Max break off, first at the museum and then on an adventure throughout the city. A food truck buffet leads to a visit to a nearby university, a fashion show in glitzy vintage store, and meeting a kind stranger they dub Rainbow Woman, before a surprising conclusion at a buoyant Winter Solstice parade, where the duo is reunited with relieved families. While there are notable strengths in this novel--Jordan and Max demonstrate endearing levels of empathy and generosity toward the people they encounter; the friends are shown embracing each other's differences, from Max's irrepressible enthusiasm to Jordan's anxiety and love of dresses; and diverse characters of various skin tones, genders, and family structures are depicted without fanfare--the overall premise of two children breaking the safety rules of a class trip to wander through a populous city entirely unsupervised from day into night is disconcerting. Though the pair is mildly chastised, and they say they won't go roaming again, there is no discussion of the extremely dangerous potential consequences of wandering a busy city with a dead cell phone and no chaperone or adult who knows their location, all the while interacting with strangers. Jordan is depicted in the sparse black-and-white illustrations as white with shoulder-length brown hair, while Max has darker skin and dark brown curly hair. VERDICT A chapter book with strengths in terms of diversity and social emotional learning, but whose overall plot point relies on a lack of key child safety protocol making it tough to recommend.--Ashleigh Williams

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Takes a gentle approach to the topics of gender identity, friendship, and acceptance."— "CM: Canadian Review of Materials"
Suzanne Sutherland

Suzanne Sutherland is an author and editor of books for young people who is passionate about inclusive and engaging storytelling. Her debut novel, When We Were Good, was selected for ALA's Rainbow Book List, and Under the Dusty Moon was a Toronto Public Library Top Ten Recommended Reads for Teens. Suzanne lives in Toronto.

Michelle Simpson has illustrated many children's books, including The Dancing Trees, I Can See You and the Jordan and Max series. She has also worked as a concept artist for kids' cartoons, such as Ollie! The Boy Who Became What He Ate (season two) and Tee and Mo (season one). Michelle holds a BAA in illustration from Sheridan College, and she lives in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781459831995
Lexile Measure
700
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Orca Book Publishers
Publication date
September 13, 2022
Series
Orca Echoes
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV017080 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Non-Religious
JUV060000 - Juvenile Fiction | LGBT
Library of Congress categories
-

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