The Adventures of George Global
The Lakeside Lather
Young Bobby and his pal, egged on by the new kid in school, are planning a prank to disrupt the town’s ceremony dedicating the new park down by the lake. They decide that they’re going to dump soap in the fountain, so that when the mayor turns on the water, foam will bubble up and spill all over and the boys will have a good laugh.
Later that evening, Bobby, having trouble concentrating on his homework, idly spins his globe. Suddenly, a magical globe-shaped creature floats up to the ceiling and begins to talk to the boy, introducing itself as George.
George explains that he is not a globe: “I am the part of the earth that stands up for itself when people are messing it up.” He takes Bobby’s hand and they travel across space and through time, seeing what the lake looked like in the pristine long ago and how it will look in the future if the boys continue to disregard the environment.
Peter Gorin, a promotional products consultant, has also been a writer and producer for Silly Music and a performer at New York charity events. He created George Global with John Magno, a promotional products consultant for several publishing companies. They tour the country, bringing George’s message of earth consciousness to schools and community events.
The book is lively and adventuresome, with believable characters and natural-sounding dialogue. Bobby is responsible and positive without coming off as a goody-goody. When he first meets George, he sputters: “Whatever you are that looks like a globe only with a face and arms and legs starts playing tricks on me, appearing and disappearing, and it’s a little complicated … no kidding, I thought maybe there was a simple explanation, like I had too much meatloaf for dinner!”
George’s mystical time-and-space travel (called Going Global) is depicted with wonder and enthusiasm: “From the shoreline, they floated straight out over the lake. It was kind of like roller skating, just gliding along, only they weren’t actually touching anything. Then they gently settled down into the water. Bobby wondered how he could breathe but he seemed to be able to without any effort at all.”
On one of his Going Global trips with George, Bobby learns that the new kid is really a Grimlex in disguise, a creature that thrives on filth and decay, who instigated the polluting prank to further the Grimlex goal of turning the Earth into a dirty, contaminated mess. The Grimlex convinces Bobby’s friend to go through with the prank and Bobby and George Global must hurry to stop it before the lake is destroyed.
Although the illustrations are rather uninspired, this dynamic book presents an exciting escapade, and an important lesson in environmental stewardship without ever preaching. Readers will hope for more adventures of George Global and his pals.
Reviewed by
Karen McCarthy
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
