Title: A Never Land Book: Escape from the carnivale

Author(s): Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

Publication date: 9/2/2006

Type of book: Middle grade fantasy

Is this a part of a series, If yes, which number? Yes. (#1 of 3) #2: “Cave of the dark wind” #3: “Blood tide”. These books are also side stories that go along with the “Peter and the Starcatchers” series by the same two authors.

Summary: Little Scallop is a princess in the Mollusk tribe and she is loved by everyone. The one thing missing in Little Scallop’s life is adventure. One day her two mermaid friends, Aqua and Surf talk her into going diving for pearls. The problem is that the pearls are in a part of the ocean that all the kids have been told never to go to. When Surf is captured and brought aboard a pirate ship, Little Scallop begins to realize that adventures aren’t all they appear to be and she will need all her friend’s help to save Surf from her captors.

Characters:

    *Little Scallop is feisty and kind. She loves her friends and will do anything for them.

                *Surf and Aqua are identical twin mermaids who are full of life and like Little Scallop they long for adventure.

                *James is one of the lost boys. He is brave and jumps right in to help save Surf from the pirates.

Favorite bits: This book is short but it’s full of fun and adventure. It has enough danger to satisfy any young reader without scaring them and plenty of relatable characters. Another thing I love about this book is that it’s full of beautiful black and white illustrations. They are lovely to look at and they bring the characters to life as only pictures can. (I also love that my copy is a library binding, it’s my favorite kind of binding. I am not a fan of slipcovers.)

Problematic bits: I have nothing bad to say about this title.

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