Squint and Rocket by Corbett Buchly

When partners and unlikely friends, the gentlemanly Englishman Captain Ishmael Squint and the rough and rude American Rashomon Rocket, cross paths with their old enemy Henrich Schnitzelwisen, it’s time to take flight in the Captain’s airship and track down the lost treasures of ancient civilizations and renaissance inventors before evil gets there first. Check out this fun, family-friendly 1930’s pulp-style adventure for courageous young readers.

Terence Vickers’ Review: 4.5-Stars

I found Squint and Rocket to be interesting once I got past the tongue twister names like “The Sacred Monkey Head of Ubuktubuktumarooktu” which I found hard to get past. The plot itself flows well, and I think it would keep the younger readers interested, with a few nice little twists and surprises.

Not impressed with the formatting of the mobi book as my pocketbook reader presents it with chapter headings showing at the bottom of pages, or anywhere else it wants to.

Nice cover with good colour that relates well to the story.

The opening lines might not grab a younger reader. I didn’t really get too interested in the story until well into the book, the tongue twisters being the biggest stumbling block. I do like the interior sketches which appear occasionally throughout the book, nice sharp images that relate well to the text.

In general, a good read for ten years of age and up if you don’t try to pronounce some of the words.

Diane Andersen’s Review: 5-Stars

Squint and Rocket by Corbett Buchly is one of those books that targets middle grades but can be read and enjoyed by adults as well. Whether you are reading it to your children (or just using the excuse to read it yourself) you don’t even have to have children of your own to read and enjoy this charming adventure story.

As a lifelong lover of children’s fiction (OK. Seriously! I’ve never outgrown kiddie lit, and I’m not ashamed to admit it) I can be a very discerning reader when it comes to middle grade fare. In this case, Squint and Rocket has all the old-fashioned charm of those old serialized pulp fiction novels of our grandfather’s day and yet all the humor, snark and banter to please modern kids.

There are the two hapless heroes, Ishmael Squint and Rashomon Rocket, whose biggest problem is retrieving a stolen artifact, but only if they can outwit an old enemy and still continue their quest for treasures of antiquity. If this sounds like a little bit of Indiana Jones meets Rocky and Bullwinkle, it’s darn close and well worth giving it a try.

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