Silly, Silly, Silly

This is a neat book, but it can be a bit exhausting. In that regard it reminded me a lot of those "Amelia Bedelia" books in which Amelia mishears and misunderstands everything she hears, (when someone says "Let's hit the road", she bends over and pats the asphalt), and the joke just goes on and on. Well, this book has a couple of running jokes, (Pa invents and builds ridiculous things in seconds, our kid hero is really clumsy, people mishear each other all the time), that can be wearing.

But, in and among those predictable threads there are many funny and clever one-off jokes and throwaway lines. There are lots of clever bits of business, occasional interesting wordplay, and some nice deadpan humor from W.B., our kid narrator. The upshot is that you get a slightly frustrating pacing problem -- On one hand there is an underwater scene in which W.B. escapes a giant eel and a shark. The scene is action-packed, suspenseful, and packed with funny lines. There are lots of bits like this. On the other hand there is a scene in which the Baron family is abducted by two really stooopid thugs - the scene goes on for page after page after page, and the stooopidness stuff becomes tedious. There are also more labored scenes like that.

The upshot for me was that this felt like the kind of book that could be hit or miss from one young reader to another. Some might be tickled by the really silly stuff, some not. Some might be patient with the slightly dragged out scenes, some might want a bit more pace, plot and flow. The book does pick up and tighten up, and the plot does speed up and get more on track, as the book progresses. I warmed up to this as it went on, and suspect that might be the case for other readers as well. In that light, this certainly did seem like a book that would be worth a try by most readers.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Thank you to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for allowing me to receive an ARC copy of this book. It is an honest review.
I had not read this series before even though our library has the first book. The Splendid Baron Submarine is a delightful, adventure of family fun. I of course love pirates and this book has so much fun with the pirate theme. W.B. leads the adventure again with his inventions and quick wit. I loved the monkey. It is a great side character and has hilarious misadventures. I think for kids 11 and older this is a great series! I went back and read the first one because I enjoyed this one so much. Don't skip out on this series. Great read for Middle Grade and more advanced Elementary readers!