Don't Go Near the Creek product reviews

When I explained that this story is about a little boy named Adam, Miss Five became very interested because her name starts with an A too. She is still learning her alphabet, and of course A comes first, so she was able to identify his name on the first page. However, she quickly decided that he was older than she is because he spends much of his time reading. That is a skill Miss Five is still working on. But she was fascinated by the illustrations; I had to stop reading at regular intervals so she could check them.

Since she is sociable by nature and always on the go, she could not understand why Adam was reluctant to leave the familiarity of his room. She enjoys leafing through picture books but her concentration span is short. When Adam leaves the house to ride his bike, she was glad. Although he does not set out to disobey his mother, the mysterious creek calls to him. I asked Miss Five whether he should wade into the water when he has been warned against it. She said he was being very careful, so it was probably all right!

It interested me to see how the author has taken the position of an introspective child and provided an active challenge that he cannot resist. Most kids have a natural balance in their lives. They alternate between "me-time" when they read, use a device, or just daydream on their own, and "social time" when they pursue physical activities, whether playing with friends or exploring possibilities in the wider world. In Adam's case, the challenge is the "dangerous" creek.

Once Adam has realised that the creek is not very deep, he steps in only to make a discovery. A golf ball, no doubt from the nearby park where golfers are pursuing their sport. What treasure! But then an interruption occurs which startles him. He and the ducks are not alone in the water! Once, when I was not much older than Miss Five, I was exploring a similar creek with two boys. The creek ran outside their home, and they were used to wading through the shallow water in search of treasure. Without warning, I was tripped and dunked into the muddy water with a large eel wrapped around my legs. I was sodden and filthy, and there was some explaining to do later! But it was a learning moment for me, just as it is for Adam.

Adam's first thought is to take the eel home, but then he has misgivings and opts to return it to its usual habitat. And when he does, he sees a huge collection of golf balls glowing in the moonlight. The budding entrepreneur realises that this is his chance. Golf balls are expensive; recycling them could be the start of a commercial business.

Both Miss Five and I enjoyed the story. We talked about the issues highlighted, from taking risks to caring for the environment. She was happy that the eel survived the journey away from his home, and relieved that Adam did not get into too much trouble for messing up his clothes. Our special favourite was the title page as it spills over into the copyright page, spanning both. All the components of the story are portrayed there: the creek, the ducklings, the golf course, the eel, and the lost golf ball. They are just waiting for Adam and his teddy to arrive!

I read a heck of a lot of picture books and always happy to read a new New Zealand picture book, so happily grabbed this to read. The front cover is quite cute but it isn't an illustration style that I'm particularly keen on and I really didn't like the way the people came out in this book. The story follows young Adam, who spends most of his time reading, one day he's told by him mum to go out biking, be back in time for tea, don't get dirty and DON'T go near the creek. Of course, we all know that our young hero is going to end up at the creek eventually.

Adam is told several times not to go to the creek but does, ends up in the water to fish out a golf ball and heads home filthy, past dinner and with a giant eel left on his front yard to show dad in the morning. However, he wakes up during the night, returns the eel and decides to spend time later fishing out the golf ball to eventually sell. I didn't actually realize that the creek was next to a gold course (to tell us why the golf balls were in the river) other than a very brief view of a golfer in the background, and views of a sand pit in the background - both of which you would need to know that's what they were. I showed the book to my mum, who gave it a read and she really didn't like it as Adam breaks the rules and there is not only no punishment at all, but he goes on to profit from it.

Overall, not really a book that I would recommend to anyone, the brightest part of the book was one scene where Adam is reading a pirate book and it has come to life around him.