CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW
by Wayne S. Walker
for Stories for Children Magazine
BOOK: Fiscal Pear and Shimmer in the Call of River Whale
WRITTEN BY: Olivia Brooks-Scrivanich
ILLUSTRATED BY: Phillipe Jacinto Velazquez
PUBLISHED BY: Booksurge Publishing (2008)
ISBN10: 1-4196-9589-4
ISBN13: 9781419695896
READING LEVEL: 10 and up
REVIEWED BY: Wayne S. Walker
This extremely imaginative and suspenseful chapter book takes older children and adult
readers on an exciting adventure that will keep them turning the pages to find out what happens
next. Fiscal Pear is a pear who can walk and talk. Shimmer, the lightning bug, is his best friend.
SOL, a beam of light, is also a close companion. However, Fiscal has some vicious and powerful
enemies as well. The story opens with Fiscal Pear hiding in a hollow tree, mourning the loss of
Shimmer, and being found by Olie Owl. The first part of the book goes back and tells what had
happened previously.
In the Town of Bakeries, the old Bakery of Pears was declining and losing business to the
newer bakeries so she became very bitter. She decided to kidnap Fiscal Pear and put him on
display in order that she might attract new customers. Her evil friends Butt Rott Root, the knife
Cutter, and their gang, learned that Fiscal and Shimmer were at a festival in the Village of Lights
and set out to capture them. The two were helped along by SOL, who was trying to take them to
safety, and other friends such as Train, the ocean shimmers, and the Council of the Wise which
includes the River Whale.
In spite of their attempts to flee, SOL disappeared, Fiscal was captured and imprisoned in a
bad tree, and Shimmer was encased in a pasty covering of flour and milk. The last part of the
book continues the story from where Olie finds Fiscal. Will the pear be able to escape? Did Sol
and Shimmer survive or not? And what will happen to the Bakery of Pears, Cutter, and Butt Rott
Root? This fantasy tale emphasizes the importance of imagination. The author began to jot
down the characters and scenes in her mind during a camping trip on the Oregon coast. Anyone
who likes fantasy stories should enjoy this book.
Websites: www.fiscalpear.com and www.fiscalpear.net