Jack's Knife: Teacher's Guide

Fifteen-year-old Jackson has big dreams fueled by long talks with his elderly next-door neighbor, Al McMann. At 91, McMann has many stories about policing the northwest as a young man. But their friendship worries Jackson's single mom, who finds it "unhealthy." When she insists that Jack break off the friendship and sign up for community baseball instead, he is hurt and angry. When a stray dog turns up, his mother demands they call animal control, and Jack ends up dodging the dogcatcher with his new friend. Ducking through a fence, he stumbles into an unfamiliar place -- Juneau, Alaska in the mid-1930s, where he's soon involved with a fledgling law-enforcement team that just might need his help. This new young-adult novel from the husband-and-wife team of Chris and Beverley Wood blends a compelling story of a troubled teen and his canine best friend with an exciting time-travel adventure.