Pollen and the Ring of Harmony

By Zoe Jacobson, Age 14, Literary Editor of TweenTribune

Pollen and the Ring of Harmony is a wonderful book for tweens. It begins when some lumberjacks try to cut down a tree. Reb, an old man who has lived in isolation near this tree, tells them to stop because the tree is under government protection.

The men scoff, saying his government broke its promise, and that the tree is theirs. Then a young boy emerges from the trees and tells the men to stop. Before they know it, the trees are magically "fighting back." This was made possible by this boy’s ring.

The boy tells Reb he is on a mission. His name is Pollen and he was sent from another planet to save human kind from a meteor that is going to smash the Earth. Pollen and Reb begin a 3,000-mile journey to Washington, D.C. to warn the president that everyone must start working in harmony, or there won’t be a next week.

Along the way, Pollen stops to help anyone in need. He puts out fires, stops a tornado and saves people from a snowstorm. As Pollen’s ‘miracles’ become more and more famous, so does his ring. And everyone wants the power that comes with it, including the vice president. As the story unfolds, it becomes more and more apparent how corrupt the system really is.

This book is a great inspiration for tweens who feel strongly about global warming and the environment, but there were some problems with the literature. For instance, the author introduced too many characters at once — many with similar names — so I got confused easily. Neither the plot nor the characters held my attention, so I was forced to re-read entire pages after my mind drifted.

And the author told the story instead of showing it. For instance, here's a "telling": sentence: The boy is nervous. And here's a "showing" sentence: With sweaty palms and creased forehead, the boy waited for his turn before the audience.

Another problem was that the characters were unrealistic. Pollen was a real "goody-goody" and it got on my nerves. And one of the reporters was constantly "hitting on" Pollen." I THOUGHT HE WAS A YOUNG BOY, WHY WAS SHE TRYING TO "GET WITH HIM"!! It was also kind of corny, with a predictable romance and some lame descriptions.

Despite these problems, after reading about 100 pages, I did get into the book. I loved the great message, and that the book included a couple of pictures — that’s rare in a chapter book.

The book was extreme and used a "Rubber Band Strategy" to persuade the reader to act more green and environmentally sound. Think of it this way: If you want to move someone from "A" to "B," make a case something even further away, such as "C," and they will "snap back" to "B," which is the outcome you wanted.

I also liked Reb's amazing dream. It was brilliant and creative and really made you think about the future of our planet. I wish the author had put as much thought into the entire book as he had into those few pages.

One a scale of one to five, I give it a one. Reading level, 10-14.