Salt Water Taffy: A Climb Up Mt. Barnabas
Continuing their summer adventures in the seaside small town of Chowder Bay (following The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny, 2008), brothers Jack and Benny Putnam seem to have a knack for stumbling across the town’s mysteries. When Jack “borrows” their dad’s lucky hat and it subsequently gets stolen by Chowder Bay’s resident giant eagle, who has a thing for fancy hats and blueberries, Jack and Benny set out to get the hat back. The trick is, they have to scale the treacherous Mt. Barnabas and dodge a scheming wolf to do it. Loux again hits the mark with this second volume of his new graphic-novel series. His line work is clean, lively, and expressive, showing scenery, characterization, and movement equally well. Loux’s approach to Jack and Benny’s adventures, through both the story and the art, has a whimsical and childlike flair, and his characterizations ring true with an authenticity that kids will easily identify with. Grades 3-6. --Tina Coleman