Clabbernappers [Hardcover]

Len Bailey (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

King Krystal of Elidor has a serious problem: Sarksa Pirates have captured the Queen! Desperate for her return, King Krystal summons a hero from the Dream Machine. Enter Danny Ray, the best dang rodeo cowboy in Oklahoma. The only problem? He’s only an eleven-year-old boy--not quite the hero the Elidorians expected.
But Danny Ray aims to prove them wrong by recapturing the Queen. How? Truth is, Danny Ray isn’t quite sure. Luckily he will have lots of help from friends like Captain Quigglewigg, the Sultana, Lord Yellow, Princess Eliana and--of course--the Clabbernappers.
On his breathtaking adventure across the Checkered Sea, Danny will encounter lots of exotic creatures, including Coal Trolls, Gimmion Gott, the Potter Wasp, the Red Bats, Tantarrabobs and the Ghost of Buckholly Harbor. His battles will pit him against the Sarska Pirates, the Nightmare Queen...and the evil King Dru-Mordeloch.
Clabbernappers is thrilling high comic adventure from a remarkable new writer.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–An unusual combination of chess, royalty, pirates, and a cowboy characterizes this adventure. When junior-division rodeo champion Danny Ray steps through a mysterious door at an amusement park, he finds himself in the strangest place he's ever seen: an enormous Checkered Sea, populated by characters both good and evil. As the 11-year-old sets off to find King Krystal's kidnapped queen, he encounters many exotic characters, including coal-trolls, a giant wasp, red bats, and tantarrabobs. This fast-paced story is filled with several battles, humor, and a chilling scene or two. While interesting and wonderfully written ("The fog lay heavy, expectant, as if the air itself was listening"), the language may prove too daunting for some readers. Recommend this unique tale to fans of chess, pirate stories, nonstop action, and fantastic characters.–Jessi Platt, Auburn Public Library, AL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Junior division rodeo champion Danny Ray has never had an offer like this: if he steps through a mysterious door, he is promised the adventure of a lifetime. He strides confidently through and enters a land of chess pieces and mayhem. Someone has stolen the queen, and Danny Ray agrees to bring her home in seven days--during which he encounters a ghostly eater of men, the dreaded Dru Mordeloch, and insectlike pirates who seem to be everywhere on the great Checkered Sea. It's a world of chess, with rook and knight sailing vessels on an endless checkerboard that changes colors with the seasons, and, as it turns out, Clabbernappers are much better than Tantarabobs for gaining on or escaping the enemy. Action is paramount in the imaginatively told tale, which is filled with near misses and close calls that stack up before the satisfying ending. Bailey's rousing adventure, first in a planned series, will appeal to young chess lovers and pirate fans alike. Cindy Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Starscape; 1st edition (January 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765309815
• ISBN-13: 978-0765309815
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,162,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, new fantasy offers thrills and surprises, January 29, 2005

By 

Avery T - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clabbernappers (Hardcover)

Well-paced, colorful adventure with original characters galore, continual twists and surprises, and through it all a delight in language that sparkles!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, engaging, and creative Adventure, March 12, 2005

By 

Laurie Montelo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clabbernappers (Hardcover)

I would wholeheartedly recommend Len Bailey's new book, "Clabbernappers". It was an extremely creative adventure story about an eleven year old boy, Danny Ray, who at the county fair, gets a choice of a prize or walking through a door marked "Adventure". Being the adventurous type, he goes through the door and finds himself offering to find the missing queen for the King of Elidor in time for the Great Chess Game. The story takes place on a chessboard with the chess pieces as ships on the "Checkered Sea". It's the good guys against the bad guys- Danny Ray and his friends on the ship "Hog", fighting off the Sarksa pirates (which are big black ant-like creatures) in search of the queen. There are gargoyles, bats, ghosts and countless other creatures in this creative novel, whose hero, Danny Ray, is one really confident boy. He never lets himself think that he cannot accomplish what he has set out to do. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read a fast-paced adventure set in a completely different place than they've read about before. It was well written; I could visualize the characters and places in the story. I enjoyed it very much and am going to have my kids (ages 8, 10, and 12) read it next!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dang good fantasy adventure, January 29, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clabbernappers (Hardcover)

The Sarksa pirates abduct the Winter Queen, putting King Krystal of Elidor into a tizzy. He needs to mount a rescue, but who would undertake a seemingly suicidal mission. Krystal knows his champion must be the most courageous soul in the universe and no one in Elidor comes close so the monarch turns to the Dream Machine to summon a special hero to save the Queen.

Conceptually the King's idea should have worked, but he has doubts when the Dream Machine brings him the best bull rider in the Oklahoma Junior Division rodeo cowboy Danny Ray who was lifted from a Cherokee County amusement park. The monarch is skeptical not because Danny is from earth; he has misgivings because the "champion" is eleven years old. However, Danny Ray upon grasping why they sent for him, plans to prove the royal dude wrong by rescuing the Queen. His crosses the Checkered Sea with the help of Sea Captain Quigglewigg and the Clabbernappers while pirates, an evil monarch, the malevolent Nightmare Queen, and a nasty ghost attempt to kill him.

Middle school students will agree with confident Danny Ray that "CLABBERNAPPERS is the best dang adventure ever" as the young rodeo champion seems to land in one precarious situation after another while befriending interesting allies. The story line never slows down whether Danny Ray persuades his callers that he is the man albeit preadolescent for the job until the final altercation after a series of confrontations with the bad dudes. Len Bailey provides a wonderful young adult fantasy that is not a coming of age tale, but instead a youthful intrepid defender performing what he thought would be an itty bitty task.

Harriet Klausner