As we near the end of this six-book series by Jeri Massi, this fifth installment wasn’t my kids’ favorite but still held their interest and kept them happy throughout. In fact, my son considers Llamas on the Loose his second favorite after Treasure in the Yukon (Book 3).
This story follows elder siblings Jack and Penny Derwood (Derwood, Inc.), younger sister Jean (Courage by Darkness) and friend Scruggs (A Dangerous Game and Treasure in the Yukon) as they work a weekend job on a Llama farm in Wisconsin, a place where strange things happen. Dr. Erickson and his wife (neither of them believers in Jesus) have recently purchased a large island farm where they’re trying to raise their 40 llamas. Weekend farmhands being hard to come by, they convince their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Derwood, to loan out their older kids on weekends to perform such chores as cleaning up the four pastures after a major flood, keeping nighttime watches against trespassers and wild animals, and training one llama in particular to pull a cart.
As usual, these kids also help uncover a dangerous criminal ring (this time money launderers for the mob!), and find themselves staring down the barrel of yet another gun. If there’s a scrape to be found, leave it to the Derwoods to find it!
The plot and setting of this book are unique to be sure, but it was during this installment that I realized how serials like this (and The Sugar Creek Gang or The Boxcar Children or even The Hardy Boys) work. How simple it must be, once an author has established a set of characters and a style of storytelling, to plug them into a new setting with a new foe and new hurdles to cross. Massi could have kept writing these books till her fingers fell off.
What these books share in common with The Sugar Creek Gang, of course, is their Christian worldview. Massi isn’t averse to using words common to Christian vernacular like “witnessing” and “sharing one’s testimony,” but again, her stories aren’t overtly religious. They tackle problems common to kids in their early teens—and sure, some of those problems might deal with rough relationships at church or people who don’t pray—but they’re never preachy, and that’s what I love about them.
In this book, one moral dilemma the kids face is a strong desire to leave a younger sibling out the fun. Jack and Penny just don’t like Jean, though they’re unaware of how much she’s matured, and they can’t understand why Scruggs is being so nice to her. It’s a mild problem by any adult’s standards, but surely it’s one we all remember facing at that age—the age of cliques, bullies, and mean girls. This book allows for some conversation on these topics, and I was happy for the inroads it allowed me as I read the story to my kids.
We look forward to reading the final book in the series, Abandoned, though we’re not yet sure what series is next for us on the docket.
©2021 E.T.
Read More from JourneyForth Press:
- With Wings as Eagles by William Pinkston (1983)
- These Are My People by Mildred T. Howard (1984)
- Medallion by Dawn L. Watkins (1985)
- Derwood, Inc. by Jerri Massi (1986)
- A Dangerous Game by Jerri Massi (1986)
- Treasure in the Yukon by Jerri Massi (1986)
- With Daring Faith by Rebecca Henry Davis (1987)
- Courage by Darkness by Jerri Massi (1987)
- Some Summer! by Jean Vandervenne (1987)
- Llamas on the Loose by Jerri Massi (1988)
- The Runaway Princess by Milly Howard (1988)
- Abandoned by Jerri Massi (1989)
- A Question of Yams by Gloria Repp (1992)
- Brill of Exitorn by Peggy Downing (1994)
- Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World by Deb Brammer (1994)
- The Lost Prince by Peggy Downing (1995)
- Tales from Dust River Gulch by Tim Davis (1996)
- Camp Sierra Secret by Esther G. Wilkinson (1996)
- Chickadee Winter by Dawn L. Watkins (1999)
- Songbird by Nancy Lohr (2000)
- Nix by Penny McKnight (2006)
- Shield by Dawn Watkins (2008)