Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Salt Water Taffy: The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny


By Matthew Loux


GRAPHIC NOVEL (ages 7 and up)


I'm planning a summer trip to Bar Harbor, Maine, so when I saw this graphic novel on our library shelf, I thought I'd give it a try to get into the summer holiday mood. It surely did! It's full of action and is very fast-paced. The illustrations are in black and white with a lot of bold lines, which give the characters energy. This story is about two brothers, eleven-year old Jack and eight-year old Benny. Their parents decide to take them (kicking and screaming) on a summer-long vacation to Chowder Bay, Maine, a tiny coastal town in the middle of nowhere. There is no TV...gasp! The batteries went out in the Gameboy...NOOOOOO!!! Now what are the brothers going to do? Thankfully, they meet Angus O'Neil, a local fisherman and he regales them with a tale about Old Salty, an enormous, elusive lobster (think Loch Ness Monster, only not a loch, but an ocean) who Angus tangled with back in the day. The boys are then thrown into a mystery - Dr. True's Salt Water Taffy Shop has been robbed! Not a piece of taffy remains, but why are there taffy wrappers along the beach? Will the boys solve the mystery? Will Angus prove Old Salty exists? You'll have to read this book to find out!

No comments: