The Screech Owls
Encyclopedia
Roy MacGregor
Roy MacGregor is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction. He grew up in Huntsville, Ontario. His work tends to focus on Canadian topics; Shelagh Rogers has dubbed him the "heir to Peter Gzowski"...
. There are currently 22 titles in the series, all published by McClelland & Stewart.
Plot
The series centers around a team of peewee hockey players living in the fictional town of Tamarack, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Each book, however, encorporates actual events and locations, such as the Quebec Peewee Invitational in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. and the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
and 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Nagano, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Salt Lake City, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, respectively.
There does not appear to be a clear time line of events in the series. Although MacGregor often refers back to events that occurred in previous books in the series, the static ages of the players and the seemingly never-ending hockey season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
contradict any definite time line.
The books themselves, all of which are told from the point of view of team captain, Travis Lindsay, provide light action
Action genre
The word action has more than one meaning in fiction. Action is one of the fiction-writing modes authors use to present fiction. The term is also used to describe an exiting event or circumstance.-Action as a fiction-writing mode:...
and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
for the young reader. From Wayne Nishikawa, Travis's best friend, the sick-minded pervert, to Mr. Dillinger, the funny Manager, this series has lots of twists and turns.Terrorists, murderers, kidnappers, ghosts and other improbable anomalies befall the preteen in between, and sometimes during, their hockey games and tournaments.
Awards and recognition
The Screech Owls Series has won the Our Choice Award and the Manitoba Young Reader’s Choice Award. The series has also been shortlisted for several awards, including the Arthur Ellis Award.Television show
Screech Owls aired on YTV from September 1, 2000 to February 1, 2002. It was nominated for Best Children's or Youth Series or Program at the 16th Gemini Awards in 2001. Jonathen Malen was nominated at the Young Artist's Awards.Titles
- Mystery at Lake Placid
- The Night They Stole the Stanley Cup
- The Screech Owls' Northern Adventure
- Murder at Hockey Camp
- Kidnapped in Sweden
- Terror in Florida
- The Quebec City Crisis
- The Screech Owls' Home Loss
- Nightmare in Nagano
- Danger in Dinosaur Valley
- The Ghost of the Stanley Cup
- The West Coast Murders
- Sudden Death in New York City
- Horror on River Road
- Death Down Under
- Power Play in Washington
- Secret of The Deep Woods
- Murder at the Winter Games
- Attack on the Tower of London
- The Screech Owls' Reunion
- Peril at the World's Biggest Hockey Tournament
- Trouble at the Top of the World