• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 4

Chip Martin is growing up-and finding the adjustment to be a challenge. With his mother preoccupied by a new romance with an old friend, and his own best friend Luther barely speaking to him, Chip feels friendless and alone. One day, in the marshy woods behind the Old Place, an abandoned farm near his home Chip discovers something unbelievable - a family of Florida panthers that has been driven out of their home in the Everglades and dangerously close to human settlement. Alarmed when he hears that the last few acres of the woods are to be cleared to make way for a meatpacking plant, Chip concocts a plan to protect the panthers. He eventually learns that he has more friends than he thought, and they all want the same thing-to find a safe home for the wild animals. And if they're lucky, a safe place for themselves, too.

Originally a freelance journalist, Rosa Jordan has in the past 15 years published nine books: four non-fiction (two set in Cuba), four juvenile fiction (set in the US South), and Far From Botany Bay, her first novel for adults (set in England, Australia, and the South Pacific.) Whatever the form or geography, Jordan’s writings illuminate landscapes where social and political realities intersect with personal courage and compassion. Jordan grew up in the Florida Everglades, attended university in California and Mexico, and emigrated to Canada in 1980. An environmental and social justice activist, she has been on the board of Earthways Foundation almost 20 years. In that capacity, she facilitated the development of an organic agriculture project in the mountains of Guatemala and a jungle cat reserve in Ecuador’s Chocó rainforest. She and her partner Derek Choukalos live, write, ski, and cycle in the Monashee Mountains of British Columbia.

Rosa Jordan's profile page

"Jordan has done her homework, and the storyline involving the panthers is especially interesting. It is refreshing to see children taking initiative to solve problems and making a difference to the world.
Recommended."
— CM Magazine

"I cried as I read this book - its so moving that I wanted to crawl into the storyline and help Chip do what needed to be done. This book is very poignant and I loved the message that it sends - you are NEVER alone when you are helping someone else. This book is a beautiful read."
— www.bookshipper.blogspot.com

"This novel is a wonderful story of friendship in the face of adversity. The normal growing pains of adolescent friendships are realistically portrayed. In addition, the plot line presents an empowering account of how young people can make a change in the world when they seize the opportunity and believe in themselves.
Rating: Excellent"
— Resource Links

The Last Wild Place