✍ Scribed by Horse, Harry
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
On holiday in Saltbottle, Grandfather and Roo discover the Unsinkable, the boat which took them to the North Pole in the first book, lying in a sadly dilapidated state and up for sale. At the auction, the short-sighted auctioneer accidentally sellsthe boat to Roo - sold to the old lady in the brown fur coat! Now they have to find the money and the Captain suggests a fishing trip to the Great Cod Banks in the Forgotten Sea. Off they go, but the trip ends in disaster when the boat sinks and Grandfather and Roo are cast away on a desert island. They find their own Man Friday (called Tuesday) but he turns out to be a film director staying in a luxury hotel. Meanwhile, the Captain has found the treasure and rescued the Unsinkable.
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Let’s talk dogs with personality to spare in children’s books. First there was Scuppers in The Sailor Dog (1953). Next there was Gloria in Officer Buckle and Gloria (1995). Then came Hound in Jeanne Birdsall’s Penderwicks books. Now there is Roo in Horse’s quartet of books about an elderly man and his dog. In this latest adventure, the duo sets off to sea. Despite Grandfather’s wishes to the contrary, Roo brings along Poopy, the annoying (to Grandfather) but beloved (by Roo) squeaky walrus dog toy. Their ship, the Unsinkable, is anything but, and soon they are stranded on an island with nothing but their wits to keep them alive. Young readers will thoroughly enjoy this sailor’s yarn told first through a series of letters, then a ship’s log, and finally a diary found on the beach. All of these pages are illustrated with Grandfather’s charming little sketches and, thanks to Roo, ink splotches and paw prints, too. Grades 2-5. --Bina Williams
“Horse’s illustrations and marginalia add humor to this whimsical tale of two friends at sea.”
“Young readers will thoroughly enjoy this sailor’s yarn”
“Packed with silly hijinks and fantastical creatures, this last of the Lasts (The Last Cowboys, 2008, etc.), with its endearing duo of grandfather and Roo, delivers fun for readers new to chapter books.”
Adventure and adventurers -- Fiction
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