Ulysses Moore #2: The Long-Lost Map
Grade 4-7–Eleven-year-old twins Jason and Julia and their friend Rick are caught up in an adventure in space and time in this second volume in the series. Back home at Argo Manor, Julia and the aged butler, Nestor, confront a thug in the employ of the nefarious Oblivia Newton while the boys, stuck in ancient Egypt, try to follow the clues to a long-lost map in order to return home. With the help of Maruk, the daughter of Egypt's high priest, and Mammon (also known as Lucifer), who runs the Shop of Long-Lost Maps, the boys race against time to find the Room That Isn't There, unaware that Ms. Newton is also on the hunt. The story seesaws between past and present, weaving together the adventures of Julia, the boys, and Ms. Newton. Baccalario's pages are so full of action and his pace is so breathless that readers may not realize, until the boys themselves do at book's end, that the map's importance is still unexplained. Clever street urchins, a pet crocodile, an ancient ballad, and the allegedly dead Ulysses Moore, the manor's previous occupant, all figure into the excitement. Paced like a Hollywood thriller–Indiana Jones from a kid's-eye view–The Long-Lost Mapsacrifices character development and literary verve for nonstop excitement, which it provides in spades. Recommend this one to those students who have worn out their copies of Lemony Snicket's books and Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black's Spiderwick Chronicles (S & S).–Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TXCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.