👍Book 1: Super-Secret Plans (2018)
🤷♀️Book 2: Spectacular Specs (2019)
By Russell Ginns
Amazon rating: Book 1: 4.7/5.0, Book 2: 4.7/5.0, ages 8-12
Good Reads: Book 1: 3.87/5, Book 2: 4.25/5.0
Common Sense Media: Not Reviewed
4Rbooks: Book 1: 4/6, Book 2: 3/6, grades 3-7
Book 1: 246 pages, Book 2: 414 pages
Synopsis:
Uncle Paul is missing. An unusual man who wore green plaid pajamas and orange flip-flops, every day, Uncle Paul lived in the garage apartment next to Samantha’s home. He loved to travel and share stories of the world with Samantha. She had to find him, especially after Uncle Paul’s letter arrived. In it was a check for her sister in the amount of 2 billion dollars and for her brother, the ownership papers to The New York Yankees and all their players. Samantha was left a red umbrella and a warning to “watch out for the RAIN.”
Samantha soon discovers that the umbrella is a gateway to a secret collection of underground tunnels with fantastical transportation machines to crisscross the world. With her little brother Nipper, and sometimes the family dog Dennis, the two of them set off around the globe looking for Uncle Paul. They visit and learn about amazing places while trying to stay ahead of foul smelling ninjas (book 1) and evil clowns (book 2) who are trying to steal the umbrella and use the tunnels for their own horrible schemes.
Parental Guidance: low
Various scenes of children in cartoon style danger.
Recommendation:
This is a 4-book series. I will review books 3 and 4 at a later date. As I was reading book 1, I kept thinking of the movie Despicable Me. The plot and action scenes were cartoonishly far-fetched. I kept picturing how the story would look on screen as a cartoon movie. It could be a lot of fun. There are also puzzles woven throughout the story with answers at the end, and there are informational pages about each of the places they visited.
Unfortunately, as I read book 2, like many sequels, it bordered on monotonous and predictable. Yes, the villains were new, but just a variation on the theme set in book 1. There were new modes of transportation to get around the world, but they didn’t come across as outlandish after reading book 1. There are puzzles again, but not as many informational pages.
I would recommend book 1, but I would only recommend book 2 to a child who enjoyed the first book. That child will enjoy the continuation of the adventures, even if it’s not done as well. A child who didn’t enjoy book 1, don’t bother with book 2. I hope 3 and 4 can bring back the fun and magic.
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