Paintball Panic

Robin and Chris Lawrie wrote the Ridge Riders books together, and Robin illustrated them. Their inspiration for these books is their son. They wanted to write books that he would find interesting. Many of the Ridge Riders books are based on adventures he and his friends had while biking. Robin and Chris live in England, and will soon be moving to a big, old house that is also home to sixty bats.

Grade 3–8—These hi/lo graphic novels feature a diverse group of middle school kids who champion ecology and fight property development. In Panic, the Riders try to get signatures for a petition to stop the planned housing that will take over their biking hill. When the developer sets up a paintball tournament, three members of the group participate (the others won't use guns) and a fiasco ensues, yet all ends well as townspeople decide against the developer: "We don't want this paintballing nonsense every weekend." In the second title, the children go on a hunger strike (which they promptly break) and stage a "tree-in." It ends when Andy, who is deaf, falls and lands in a pond in which protected wildlife is discovered; most of the property then becomes a sanctuary. In both books, the dialogue flows like natural speech, color cartoon illustrations enhance the text, and back matter includes discussion questions and writing prompts.—Bobbee Pennington, Bryan Public Library, TX
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