Customer Reviews

The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck

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Welcome to the village of Pennywhistle, where almost everything is enchanted under very strict supervision at the Pennywhistle Amalgamated Enchantment Factory. On command, slices of bread jump into toasters, and when all nice and toasty, they spread themselves with butter and jelly. Lawnmowers mow lawns, mops mop, and cuckoo clocks really go quite cuckoo on the hour. All enchantments however, must be approved by the A.E.I.O.U. (Amalgamated Enchantment Industry's Organized Union), and ordinary magic is strongly discouraged.

This story's the tale of Hobart Hucklebuck
Whose enchanted objects began getting stuck
The bread wouldn't toast and the covers stayed down
Something was amiss in his magical town

The folk from the bureau were very upset
Unauthorized magic was surely a threat
They worried and wondered just who it could be
And blamed the whole thing on Wicksford Waxenbee

Hobart knew that this was a big load of blather
And started to work himself into a lather
He called up his friends for an investigation
To free his grandfather from dire Tribulation

Their search almost ended in certain disaster
`Til he called up a spell that he hoped he could master
To learn how it ends, you must read it to see
`Cos there's no way that you're going to hear it from me

Recommended for young readers, who will surely get a thrill from the colorful characters with names like Spacklethack and Rumpleskirt, the weird sounding menu items, and the thrilling action of the penultimate chapter.



Amanda Richards, July 29, 2007

As author Stan Swanson clearly notes in an opening quotation for this book, "The Universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper" (Eden Phillpotts, English science-fiction writer). With Hobart Hucklebuck leading the way, children should find their imaginations going full tilt - and enjoying the experiences immensely!

The basic plot? Things aren't going well in the town of Pennywhistle. THe magic is simply not working predictably and vexing accidents keep happening (example: bread no longer jumps into the toaster on command) and Hobert Hucklebuck, age 12, is finding his usual world more and more perplexing. Even worse, Hobart's grandfather may be in danger and being set up as a possible suspect by someone. But who? And why?

As Hobart and his friends try to solve the mystery, young readers' hearts will race and they'll be eager to finish this one. I'd consider this an excellent choice for any youngster able to handle Chapter books and it isn't overly long either. Chapter titles are very creative, as is the entire book. For those who feel they MUST throw in a little education along with a good read, you'll find plenty of examples of alliteration in this one (Great Gobs of Gollygobber is one example) as well as a unique writing style. There is also humor and wonderful characters.

For those too young to handle Harry Potter, this is an excellent alternative, just the thing to spark young imaginations and provide a rollicking fun time as well.

Magic and enchantment are everywhere in the town of Pennywhistle. Unfortunately, something is going wrong with enchanted devices. Toasters refuse to toast, bread refuses to jump into the toaster, and salt and pepper shakers refuse to shake. The situation is becoming very serious.

Twelve-year-old Hobart Hucklebuck is staying with Grandfather Wicksford Waxenbee while his parents are off on an expedition. We quickly learn that Hobart likes being with his grandfather, but he does not like the chores that he has to do. Though Hobart grumbles about his chores, most of them are easy to do with the help of enchanted objects. At least, chores are normally easy to do. It seems that enchanted devices have lost interest in doing what they are supposed to do, and Hobart is confused and annoyed by the disruption to his life.

The behavior of enchanted devices has also gained the attention of Pernacious Pratfall, the head of the Bureau of Magical Abuse and Misuse. Pratfall believes that Wicksford Waxenbee is responsible for the problems with enchanted devices. Pratfall eventually arrests Waxenbee, who is tried, convicted and sent to the Tower of Tribulation. Hobart has faith that his grandfather is not guilty, but how can he prove his grandfather's innocence?

It is always good to have friends, and Hobart's friends Specks Spacklethack and Rosie Rumpleskirt are convinced that Waxenbee is innocent. They join Hobart in seeking evidence and the truth. The novice detectives make a list of suspects and begin nosing around, which can be dangerous in a magic town. The list of suspects only seems to grow and there is little evidence that any of the suspects is guilty until Hobart gets help from the most unlikely of allies.

The end of this story is exciting and enjoyable. I was pleased that Stan provided some serious moments in his story, which has a lot of humor in it. I can see the ending might even be a little scary for very young readers, but the scare factor is manageable and makes the ending even more fun to read.

The problem with being an adult reading stories meant for children is that my perceptions are different from a child's. I found the constant alliteration annoying initially. Eventually I became accustomed to the alliteration and even started to like it, but it took a while. On the other hand, children seem to enjoy alliteration, so the frequent use of alliteration would probably be fun for most children in the target age range of 9 to 12 years old.

I also suspect that children 7 or 8 years old would probably enjoy this story as well, and the words Stan uses would be an interesting challenge

As for the story and the writing, the story grew on me and I was unable to put the book down in the final chapters. Swanson's story captured me and I was both happy to get the answers to my questions at the end of the story and sad that it was over. I look forward to the next entry in the saga of Hobart Hucklebuck and his friends.

Fans of children's fantasy and children not quite ready for Harry Potter but wanting to read a fantasy novel will find "The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck" to be an interesting and enjoyable addition to their collection of fantasy books. I think most readers will be longing for the next entry in the series.

Enjoy!

With "The Misadventures of Hobart Hucklebuck," Stan Swanson opens up a whole new fantasy world to youngsters who aren't quite old enough for Harry Potter or "A Wrinkle In Time." In this tale, we find young Hobart troubled with recent events in the little town of Pennywhistle. Enchanted items just aren't as enchanted as they used to be. Toasters won't toast, clocks are going haywire and life is generally just abnormal. The stores on Druid Lane have been forced to close until a culprit in the matter is found. Eventually Hobart's grandfather, Wicksford Waxenbee, is accused and found guilty of the crimes and is placed into a cell in the Tower of Tribulation on Mumblemonk mountain. With his friends Specks and Rosie, and the family store clerk/apparition called Tumbletoes, Hobart sets out to see who or what is causing all of the chaos in Pennywhistle and hopefully prove his grandfather's innocence.

The story moves briskly along and has plenty of action and comedy for younger readers. Many of the characters are intentionally over-the-top. With names like Mortimer Moosefeather, Pernacious Prattfall, Delphenia Dragonwart and Beauregard Bladderblott, you'd expect them to be just that. My favorite character is the aforementioned Tumbletoes. Swanson develops the key characters vividly and makes the reader look forward to what happens next.

Swanson knows his audience very well and will most likely attract the bulk of his readership from the nine to twelve year-old demographic. Comparisons to Harry Potter (and possibly Encyclopedia Brown) are inevitable, but it appears that Swanson has no plans on invading J.K. Rowling's territory. He's merely setting up a whole new generation of readers for fantasies such as the Potter series, Madeleine L'Engle's wonderful books and the "Narnia" books as well.

If you are a pre-teen or have one in your family who enjoys fantasy tales, pick up this book. It's funny and packed with just enough action to trigger the reading bug in any youngster. I highly recommend this book.