A Strange, Fun, Upbeat Adventure for Early Readers

This book, and this series, have a "scouting" frame that allows for all sorts of silly and fantastic adventures without the need for magical or fantasy world building. They are easy to get into, briskly paced, exceptionally good-humored, and loaded with lots of upbeat but understated messages about loyalty, responsibility, cooperation, independence, and the like. The mix is light and balanced and so the tales unwind crisply and cheerfully.

The idea is that our four heroes, (a nice mix of different kids), are "Strange Scouts", tasked with facing danger and adventure while saving the odd, unique and threatened strange creatures of the world. The first volume featured Sasquatch; this one leads us to the Loch Ness Monster. The scouting angle lets the kids be a troop, have a scoutmaster, earn badges, and so on, but it doesn't get in the way or require a lot of explanation. That leaves more room for jokes, bits of silliness, and setting up the big mystery - who's trying to frame Nessie?

Matthew Cody has written some elegant books for older readers, including "The Dead Gentleman", "Will in Scarlet", and the Pied Piper series, so he has a good handle on middle grade fantasy/adventure. This series aims at a much younger crowd. The drawings, which are friendly and engaging, are a bit cartoony and invite the young reader in. Sentences are clear and direct. The tale is narrated by Ben, one of the strange scouts. He is a good humored narrator and projects as a nice blend of frantic, deadpan, and cheerfully welcoming. There are funny asides, interesting adults, and just the right amount of haggis jokes.

As a consequence of the characters, the setup, the subject matter, and the welcoming style, this struck me as a book that could appeal to a wide range of early readers, from those just starting with chapter books up to and including more confident readers just looking for a laugh or two.

I love anything to do with the Loch Ness monster, and I saw this and wanted to read it immediately! I thought it was a cute fun read that any kid who likes the weird or mythical type stories would love to read this. I think I am going to add it to my child’s book list to read to him when he gets a bit older!