This one doesn’t hold a candle to Grabbenstein’s Lemoncello’s Library, but if you’re looking for an action-packed adventure to entertain your young reader, then this will likely do the trick.  The typical concerns are there: 

  • a few fart jokes, 
  • some close calls with dangerous wildlife,
  • some bad guys with knives (but mostly just big talk), and 
  • a testosterone-charged teen who flexes his muscles, wiggles his eyebrows, and tries cheap pick-up lines on a leather-clad lady whose name spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. King Solomon’s Proverbs that warn of deceitful women are perfectly illustrated here.

There are a few additional considerations:

  • Earth-age conservatives may not like a comment about “8,000 years ago…” (or was it 80,000? I don’t remember). 
  • I almost missed a moment when a kid says a landmark was created by ancestral beings.  It was easy to miss.

 I didn’t get the sense that either came from a political or scientific agenda but rather were just unfortunately true to the local culture.  I’d have a quick conversation with my kid about how, “Yes some people deify their ancestors (and I might too if I didn’t have a hope of heaven or a God who give my soul purpose after death. Praaaaaise God for His everlasting hope!)”

The last consideration makes it difficult to determine the age group this book is suitable for: Australian slang permeates the book. I think the authors tried to get every odd Aussie word in there, because some sections are very difficult to understand. Admittedly, usually these bits aren’t important anyhow, but it might deter a less mature reader (while the rest of us will laugh at the silly words, which I think was the intent.)

There seems to be some potential here. I’ll be interested to check out some others in the series to see if any can go on my bookshelf.

Update: Here is my review of Book 1!