Declan learns a lot about himself and others in this story. The author does an exceptional job of developing the characters and telling their stories. It’s their life stories that make them who they are and the author is able to bring those across in the telling of this tale of the tree roper.
I enjoyed the definition at the beginning of each chapter. It gives the reader (whether youth or adult) a chance to expand their vocabulary of words related to tree climbing and other associated words.
I didn’t care for the swearing that Declan sometimes used in the novel. I suppose this was used so that the character was more relatable to the readers his age, but I don’t really think the lack of the swearing would have made a difference.
The pace of the book was excellent. The book moved along quickly enough to maintain interest and the plot was plausible. As a teacher of visually impaired students I think that Declan could have learned to do what he was able to do despite only having vision in only one eye. He might have had some trouble judging distances, but with care he could have conceivably have been successful.
Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.
Interview with Robert Polk
Thank you
for having me on your blog today! It’s exciting to be able to share a little
bit about OPERATION TREE ROPER with you. As you’ll see, the motivation for my
book comes from a very personal source.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been
writing since 2011.
What other books, stories etc. have you published?
Operation
Tree Roper is my debut, in any genre.
What makes you want to be a writer?
When I was
a guidance counselor in a public elementary school in Savannah, Georgia, I saw
firsthand the power that children’s literature could have in young people’s
lives. I used books (mostly picture
books) to develop classroom lessons, and I knew that someday I would try to
contribute to children’s entertainment and education in the same manner as the
authors of the books we discussed in class.
How did you choose the topic of a tree climber for your
story?
In several
ways, tree climbing fit the character who’d been whispering in my ear. Climbing
provided my protagonist an “escape” and at the same time, an opportunity to
work with his father and make some money.
Do you have any experience yourself in tree climbing?
I was
climbing trees as early as I can remember, and I grew up on four acres of
wooded pasture on the edge of our small town. But it wasn’t until years later
that I began using ropes and a climbing saddle. After college and a 12 year
career in education, I started up my own tree care company. I ran that company
for five years and preferred climbing to bucket trucks as my primary method of
accessing the canopies of the trees I worked on. During that time, I held
certification by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) as a
professional arborist. I recently let that certification lapse, but will still
climb a tree.
Why did you decide that Declan should have vision in only
one eye?
Declan was
initially inspired by my third child, who was born with microphthalmia. In her
case, the right eye was underdeveloped to the degree that you could not tell
there was any eyeball in the socket. It
causes her face to have a slight asymmetrical appearance, with the right eye
noticeably smaller than the left and positioned a little lower on her face.
What kind of research did you do into his visual impairment?
Do you
have any personal connection to his type of visual
impairment through
a family member or a friend?
I didn’t
need to do too much research, as most of the knowledge about Declan’s
impairment was similar to my daughter’s, and I always listened carefully when
we spoke to her medical care providers and occularist.
Was it just that Declan looked a little different that
bothered him or
did it make a difference to him that he was blind in one eye
and
sometimes would have had to do things differently from
others that
bothered him?
Much like
my daughter, Declan is smart, spirited, and sensitive. He’s bothered by the
“pre-judging” he feels (correctly or not) from the strangers who focus on his
face when he’s out in public. He would notice his impairment during a trip to
the movie theater where he’d be watching a 3-D movie. He wouldn’t see in 3-D,
and doesn’t seem to care about that anyway. Once in a while, he’s prone to bump
someone or something on his blind side, but he usually compensates for that by
frequently turning his head toward his blind side.
My
daughter is comfortable around people she knows and one time last school year,
when her teacher asked the class to “Line up and give me your eyes”, my
daughter cheekily popped out her prosthesis and handed it towards her teacher.
Also, just the other day my daughter told me she wishes her eye was like Mad
Eye Moody’s (the character in Harry Potter.)
What is your next project in the
works?
Although
I’ve always got a few picture books on low heat, I’m working on a middle grade
mash up that’s given me quite a fever. It’s a contemporary story with
environmental science, Native American history, and science fiction elements
swirling together. It’s quite a challenge, yet very exciting to grapple with!
There’s much work to do with it before I can even show any drafts to critique
partners yet. But it will get there.
