Close Encounters of a Third World Kind

by Jennifer J. Stewart

Book Overview

"Think of it as an adventure," twelve-year-old Annie Ferris's father tells her when he announces that the family will be spending the next two months in Nepal on a medical mission. But what sort of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823418502
• ISBN13: 9780823418503
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 149 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

A seriously funny adventure

Spending two months in Nepal is not high on twelve-year-old Annie Ferris's wish list . . . especially since it will involve sharing a tent with her bratty little sister, Chelsea, and washing her own underwear with a bar of soap on a handy flat rock. Her parents have volunteered for a medical mission, though, and Annie finds herself in an antique airplane, flying to Tumlingtar, Nepal, on two itty-bitty propellors and the prayers of the plane's eighteen passengers. Making rounds with her doctor father in an impromptu clinic, Annie soon befriends the translator, ten-year-old Nirmala. (Nepalese children learn English in school; adults do not.) The two girls embark on a series of escapades that include negotiating a stay of execution for a goat named Black Handsome, being lost high on a Nepalese mountain, and carrying Chelsea across a swaying suspension bridge just steps ahead of a too-curious water buffalo. This "seriously funny" book balances amusing anecdotes of cultural differences with an affectionate appreciation of universal human emotions, needs, and similarities. Author Jennifer J. Stewart has an unerring ear for the preteen voice and sense of humor. Her own experience as a medical volunteer in Nepal provides authenticity to this hilarious yet heartwarming account of a spunky American girl's cross-cultural encounters. Boys as well as girls will enjoy this comic adventure, recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Her best book yet

I've enjoyed all of Jennifer's books, but I think this one is the strongest yet. A funny, engaging look at one girl's unexpected (and at first unwelcome) overseas journey--with humor that deepens, rather than trivializes, the book's more serious moments.

Comic adventure story in exotic setting

"Close Encounters of a Third World Kind" lives up to its title. Twelve year old Annie is off on the adventure of her life, as she treks to Nepal with her family (Mom, Doctor Dad, and little sister) to provide health care in a rural village. This is definitely an out of the mainstream book with its exotic and unusual setting. Author Jennifer J. Stewart's trademark humor is always there, as well as a certain ick factor in common medical complaints, but this is much more than a lighthearted tale. The friendship Annie develops with a younger Nepal girl is genuine. Highly recommended.