Puddlejumpers [Paperback]

Mark Jean (Author), Christopher Carlson (Author)

Book Description

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

Ernie Banks, named for the legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop, is a troubled, thirteen-year-old juvenile delinquent.  Abandoned on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was three years old, he’s now considered a “lifer,” a permanent ward of the state.  
            As a last reprieve before being sent to a juvenile detention facility, Ernie is allowed to spend three weeks on a working farm.  When Ernie arrives at the home of Russ Frazier, he learns that the widower’s baby was kidnapped years before, leaving behind a red quilt as the single piece of evidence.  Fascinated by the town’s famous “Quilt Baby” kidnapping, Ernie is determined to solve the case.  He teams up with Joey, a local tomboy, to investigate clues that lead them on a dangerous journey into a forbidden world of dark secrets, magic puddles, and the cavernous underground kingdom of the Puddlejumpers— eleven-inch tall water creatures with whom Ernie has a mysterious connection.
            When destiny summons, Ernie must find the courage to save the Puddlejumpers from the Most Dark and lead them in battle against their mortal enemies.  Only then can he find his way home.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–8—Shawn, whose mother died in childbirth and whose father, Russ, is a kind and conscientious Illinois farmer, is kidnapped at six months of age by Puddlejumpers, 11-inch-tall elflike creatures who live in an underground cavern complex and recognize Shawn as their "Rainmaker." Shawn is happily raised by them until age three when, chased by evil Troggs, he is lost and eventually left on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys near Wrigley Field in Chicago. Renamed Ernie Banks and in constant conflict with the cruel administrator, he is, at age 12, unknowingly farmed out to—you guessed it—Russ. Shawn/Ernie arrives to find drought and the evil Holsapple family ravaging the region and threatening his father. Their stinking oil wells pollute the landscape. Following well-established formula, Shawn/Ernie and his new friend Joey venture underground where they rediscover his roots. Events culminate in a Big Battle. Consumed by Hagdemonia, an enormous female oil refinery—sort of an anti-Mother Earth, Ernie dies, but because he still possesses the critical blue acorn crystal...you can imagine the rest, as this seemingly made-for-TV story ends happily, conveying that evil can be defeated by hard work, pluck, and determination. Reminiscent of T. A. Barron's The Ancient One (Philomel, 1992) in its combination of realistic initial setting and fantastical invented world of small humanoid creatures, this is a fast-paced, adventurous fantasy with interesting characters and an explicitly green environmental theme.—Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mark Jean is an award-winning director, writer, and producer of film and television. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Christopher C. Carlson lives in Los Angeles, where he writes, teaches, and rambles the Griffith and Elysian hills with his good dog, Molé. Mark and Christopher have collaborated on several projects, including the screenplay for Cynthia Voigt s Homecoming. This is their first middle-grade novel. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; Reprint edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423107608
• ISBN-13: 978-1423107606
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Jean caught the filmmaking bug while attending Western Michigan University. Determined to become a director he packed a U-haul with junk furniture and a Bolex and headed west. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications & Film at San Diego State University before relocating in Los Angeles where he attended The American Film Institute on full scholarship, receiving a Masters Degree in directing.

Jean won the George Foster Peabody Award for writing and directing a series of interstitials for Fox. He has directed multiple MOW's, pilots and episodic series and written several screenplays. His first novel, PUDDLEJUMPERS, was published by Hyperion Books in 2008.

He directed and co-wrote the feature HOMECOMING based on the acclaimed best seller by Cynthia Voigt. The script received a WGA nomination for Best Longform Adaptation and the film, starring Anne Bancroft, took the Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival.

He directed two indie features, the dark comedy, EARLY BIRD SPECIAL, and FINN ON THE FLY, a family comedy that he also co-wrote. (Best Feature Film, Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival)

For producer Mel Brooks he co-wrote the historical drama, BEAST OF BATAAN.
Most recently he helmed FINDING A FAMILY and DUKE, real-life dramas, for Hallmark.

Jean has begun work on his second novel, another young adult fantasy-adventure.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Paraphrase The Great Ernie Banks : "Let's Read It Twice!", April 26, 2008

By 

Tom Lavagnino (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Puddlejumpers (Hardcover)

Among the more wondrous aspects of PUDDLEJUMPERS is its storytelling versatility; the narrative deftly catapults a reader from urban landscape to rural farmland, from hardscrabble orphanage to quotidian domesticity, and -- most imaginatively -- from tactile realism to otherworldly (and metaphorically-rich) fantasy. Highly recommended. Suggestion : If you can read the opening chapter of PUDDLEJUMPERS and fail to be compelled to continue, sign up at the nearest I Wouldn't Know Quality Literature If It Hit Me In The Face seminar!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 26, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Puddlejumpers (Hardcover)

Ernie Banks was left on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was just three years old. Now, ten years later, he's thirteen and well on his way to spending his life running from the law.

The one thing that irks him is that he knows he used to belong to someone. See, he came to Lakeside with a baseball card, an unusual crystal acorn necklace, and a weird spiral-shaped birthmark on his right foot. Out of desperation, Ernie is sent out to a farm in the middle of Nowhere, Illinois, in hopes that he will come back as a kid with a new attitude.

Here he meets an interesting mix of people. There's Russ Frazier, the owner; Joey, the girl who lives on the neighboring farm; and then there are the Holsapples. The Holsapples are a mean bunch of money-guzzling oil hordes who are trying to buy out all the farms in order to drill for oil. The Holsapples are pretty much ruining the small town. Then there's the horrendous drought that is causing everyone to lose hope... If only there was some way that everything could be fixed.

As Ernie learns more about the people of the small town, he also finds out that Russ' son was kidnapped ten years ago and was never found. What's even weirder is that Ernie feels familiar in Russ' house. A coincidence? Maybe! When Ernie is exploring one day he finds two Puddlejumpers, small people that live beneath puddles, and learns that he is their rainmaker. It is even prophesied that he will save them from their greatest enemy, the Troggs.

Will Ernie help save the Puddlejumpers? Will he find out about himself along the way?

This was a great book! I was absorbed into the action from the very beginning. While the book is geared more for middle grade readers, I definitely think anyone would get a kick out of it. I thought that the characters, especially Ernie, were well-developed and really had a sense of being. I also liked the premise of the story. I thought it was original and cute, plus the adventure in it was great.

At the beginning of the book there is what I would describe as a mini-story within the story. It tells the origins of the Puddlejumpers and about the kidnapping of Russ' son. I thought this section may have explained too much, since I found that a lot of the events in the book following this beginning were predictable, but there were definitely still a couple of things that took me by surprise. Overall, I really liked PUDDLEJUMPERS and think it would be a great book for readers of all levels. I think this book would be especially great for reluctant readers, as it incorporates a little bit of action, adventure, fantasy, and sports!! What more could you ask for?

Reviewed by: Tasha

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real or unreal?, May 20, 2008

By 

Marilyn H. Spence - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Puddlejumpers (Hardcover)

I was reviewing this book before my grandson read it. I was expecting to scan it quickly but became engrossed and caught up in the story and couldn't put it down. There is sadness, happiness, real and mysterious goings on. It's fast paced with unique characters that hold your interest and the story has unexpected twists and turns.
My grandson needs lot of encouragement to read but he was really excited about this book. I'll have to let him wrtie his own review.
I would love to see a movie or TV program of this book.