The Man with the Red Bag [Hardcover]

Eve Bunting (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

Right from the beginning I was suspicious of the man. Right from the minute he got on the bus. Maybe it was because he acted so strangely about the bag. But mostly it was because of the way he looked. And because my ears started tingling at the sight of him—an ancient warning of danger, not to be ignored.

Six months after 9/11, everyone wanted life to return to normal. But when Charles Stavros boards the Star Tours bus, twelve-year-old Kevin Saunders is sure this exotic-looking stranger is up to no good:

He sits alone.

He has a bushy black mustache and sinister eyebrows.

He carries a red bag with him wherever he goes—and even talks to it!

Kevin confides his suspicions to Geneva, a girl he meets on the tour bus. Together they watch the man's every move. Kevin is convinced Stavros isn't a typical tourist, interested in the Great Salt Lake, the Grand Tetons, or even Yellowstone National Park.

Kevin knows Stavros, red bag in hand, has something much bigger in mind, and it's up to Kevin to save the day, and maybe even the world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—Kevin Sanders, aspiring mystery writer, accompanies his grandmother on a bus tour of Wyoming and South Dakota in March, 2002. Since it's just months after 9/11, the 12-year-old's terrorist radar is on red alert, especially when swarthy tour member Charles Stavros carries a red duffel everywhere he goes. Kevin and another kid, Geneva, set out to surveil Stavros, becoming ultimately convinced that he plans to bomb Mount Rushmore. While it may be obvious to readers fairly soon that Stavros is not a terrorist, the premise is a worthy one. Few books investigate the aftermath of 9/11 on children's psyches, and Bunting does a credible job of exploring the panic and patriotism that filled our society. However, the book ends abruptly after Stavros's final revelation. While Kevin does periodically ponder the fact that he jumps to conclusions and judges others, no attempt is made to digest this information after the mystery has unfolded. Readers will find this lack of conclusion dissatisfying and shallow, given the gravity of the issues at stake. However, the book is full of memorable settings, and it presents opportunities for classroom and family dialogue, making it worth considering as an additional purchase.—Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT
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About the Author

Eve Bunting was born in Ireland and came to California with her husband and three children. She is one of the most acclaimed and versatile children's book authors, with more than two hundred novels and picture books to her credit. Among her honors are many state awards, the Kerlan Award, the Golden Kite Award, the Regina Medal, the Mystery Writers of America and the Western Writers of America awards, and a PEN International Special Achievement award for her contribution to children's literature. In 2002, Ms. Bunting was chosen to be Irish-American Woman of the Year by the Irish-American Heritage Committee of New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006081828X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060818289
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,368,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eve Bunting has written more than 200 books for children, many of which can be found in libraries around the world. Her other Clarion titles for very young readers include My Big Boy Bed, which was also illustrated by Maggie Smith, and Little Bear's Little Boat, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. She lives in Pasadena, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great, November 11, 2007

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man with the Red Bag (Hardcover)

12 year old Kevin is on a bus trip with his grandmother. A strange, mysterious man boards the bus and Kevin thinks he's up to no good. It's only been 6 months since the 9/11 tragedy. The man reminds Kevin of the faces he's seen on the news that flew the planes in the tragic event. He and a friend join together to investigate. You will be surprised at what they find out is in the precious bag!

The story moved at a fast pace.


It was a good reminder for kids that you can't judge people by the color of their skin. You have to look deeper than that

5.0 out of 5 stars So entertaining that the book's more serious messages will go down painlessly, August 19, 2008

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man with the Red Bag (Hardcover)

Six months after September 11, 2001, 12-year-old Kevin Sanders is no longer sure he wants to go on a sightseeing bus tour with his grandmother. But his beloved grandma, still mourning the loss of her husband, has her heart set on this trip. Kevin, an aspiring mystery writer, also hopes that the trip might provide some good ideas for the novel he would like to write.

Sure enough, a mystery almost literally falls into Kevin's lap. One of the other passengers on Star Tours' bus trip through the American West is Charles Stavros, a swarthy, dark-haired stranger traveling alone. He says he's Greek, but Kevin is suspicious. Could he be Saudi or Iraqi instead? When one of the other sightseers becomes convinced that she has seen Stavros's picture in the paper as a suspect in the 9/11 attacks, Kevin knows he needs to keep an eye on him.

And then there's his bag. Stavros carries a red bag with him everywhere, refusing to leave it on the bus even to go river rafting. Stavros keeps the heavy bag locked and even seems to be talking to it sometimes, saying, "Before long it will all be over." When Kevin sees what looks like a bomb inside the bag, he and his new friend Geneva hatch a plot to stop another terrorist attack at one of our country's national landmarks. But could it be possible that, amidst all the post-9/11 conspiracy theories and paranoia, Kevin is fooling himself into seeing danger where none really exists?

Clearly inspired by the mysteries of writers such as Joan Lowery Nixon, THE MAN WITH THE RED BAG will involve kids in a genuinely suspenseful mystery plot, with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings. The book also has elements of the classic road trip novel, as Kevin's tour takes him through several of the country's most famous national parks and monuments.

These standard genre elements make the story so entertaining that the book's more serious messages will go down painlessly. Even as Kevin learns about Mount Rushmore and Old Faithful, he is also learning important lessons about tolerance, prejudice and jumping to conclusions. After September 11th, Eve Bunting argues, jumping to conclusions can be more than simply foolish --- it can be truly harmful to others. At the end of Kevin's bus tour, he has more than enough fodder for his first mystery novel --- but he also has plenty of food for thought.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book BUY! BUY! BUY!, August 12, 2008

By 

Nick "APPLE FAN#1" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man with the Red Bag (Hardcover)

The man with the red bag is a great book for young adult fiction readers. It tells a story about a kid named Kevin who pair up and suspect a man with a bomb because of the way he acts and looks. Turns out that in the end, Kevin and Geneva learn a life lesson about how not to judge people by the way that they look or act. Personally, I think that the ending is sort of disappointing but you have to find that out on your own. I would recommend this book to teachers of 5th grade or 6th grade looking for mystery books that have a life lesson in it.