Sheep on the Lam: A Science Project on the Water Cycle Turns into a Mystery-Solving Adventure

Join Jeffrey and Bob as they explore the nature of the water cycle and bravely solve the mystery to catch the culprits harming Mr. Brown.

Jeffrey is in grade 5 and loves science, so when his teacher asks the class to think of a science project to work on, he and his new friend, Bob, decide to learn more about the water cycle and how it affects the community. They learn how local water comes into their homes and how waste water leaves their homes and, together with sewer water, flow into the town's treatment facility. With the help of their teacher, they are able to tour the local municipal water treatment plant. In addition, their teacher arranges a tour of a Research Facility that is experimenting with genetically modified seeds and grains in their effort to grow more food with less water on less land.

A family friend who is a sheep farmer owns land near the lake where the town gets its drinking water. Lately Mr. Brown's sheep managed to get out of their pasture several times and were found down by the lake. The town has fined him heavily and the cost of the repairs to the fences is very high. What is happening to the fences and with the sheep?

Jeffrey and Bob accidentally discover how the fences are being destroyed and how the sheep manage to get to the lake. Mr. Brown is being sabotaged! Have they solved the mystery? Not yet. Who is doing this? And why? They need solid evidence before anyone will believe them.

In Sheep on the Lam, McAdam outlines the importance of the hydrologic [water] cycle in our lives. By learning all about how water evaporates into clouds and comes back to earth as rain or snow for a class science project, Jeffrey and Bob help a family friend and solve the mystery of how Mr. Brown's sheep repeatedly went on the lam. By bringing the mystery to a close, Jeffrey and Bob learn how the end doesn't justify the means. Even if the end goal is good, people harming others to get there is still wrong.

This book is ideal for children between the ages of 7 to 9.