The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine - Softcover

Cole, Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1561457787 ISBN 13: 9781561457786

Publisher: Peachtree, 2018

Synopsis

Sammy Shine’s life as Hank’s pet mouse was simple and quiet―until Hank’s brother sends Sammy up in a remote controlled airplane and loses control.
When Sammy Shine’s plane takes off unexpectedly, he ends up in a whole new world; no longer does he live in comfort in his shoe box in Hank’s room. Now he’s lost in the woods, with no way to get home, and a dangerous enemy. Fortunately, a group of new friends, including a mouse, an injured crow, a newt, and a shrew, will help him find and repair his plane so he can try to get back home.
Inspired by a childhood experience, New York Times-bestselling author Henry Cole offers this charming illustrated novel featuring adorable animal characters, an exciting adventure, and an action-packed plot.

About this title

About the Author:

Henry Cole is the illustrator of more than ninety books for children, including bestsellers such as The Leprechaun’s Gold, Little Bo, and Tango Makes Three, and Oink!, in addition to many of his own books, such as A Nest For Celeste and Jack’s Garden. He lives in Florida.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 3-5-In this spare middle grade novel, an unassuming mouse named Sammy gets the ride of a lifetime when he's stolen from his human owner and used as the test pilot for a remote-controlled plane. Disbelief is suspended as readers travel with Sammy over the treetops, ultimately crash landing into the Great Woods some distance away from home. After climbing out of the wreckage, the rodent encounters a kingdom of mice who initially revere Sammy's powerful aviation skills. Sammy also learns about the mice's mortal enemy, a power-hungry weasel named Mustela. When his downed plane "mysteriously" disappears, it's up to Sammy and his motley crew of forest critters-Blackie, a crippled crow; Grace, a snarky newt; and Peewee, a perpetually hungry shrew-to locate and repair the Spirit of Sammy before it falls into nefarious claws. There is some mild suspense when Sammy and his crew's quest is endangered by Mustela and his gang of vermin. Stunning pencil illustrations complemented by gorgeously detailed passages about the natural surroundings are particularly standout elements. Unfortunately, these are undermined by a clichéd plot and weakly imagined characters. While this novel seems to be aimed at younger readers, odd moments such as Mustela's creepy advances toward the mouse princess, Phoebe ("He strolled over to Phoebe and brushed her face, stroking her whiskers. She slapped his paw away, furious") seem too mature for the target audience. VERDICT Beautiful illustrations and sometimes stellar prose still don't get this illustrated novel off the ground.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peachtree
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1561457787
• ISBN 13: 9781561457786
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272