Sea Legs [Hardcover]

Alex Shearer (Author)

Book Description

For 11 year-old twins, Clive and Eric, their dad's job as a top steward on a luxury cruise liner is a bit of a drag. Mum left some time ago, and every time Dad goes away, Clive (older and considerably wiser than Eric by about five minutes) and his twin are packed off to stay with Gran and Granddad. But this summer, when dad leaves for his latest three-week cruise, the boys are going with him! Only Dad doesn't know that yet, and if all goes to plan he never will. Because Clive and Eric are going to be stowaways. Before they know it, the boys are off to exotic parts on board the luxurious Mary Celeste. They haven't actually got a cabin, they're making do with the storage cabin down next to the engine room, but hey, who needs to sleep when there's free ice cream and chocolate gateaux to eat on an hourly basis. For the first two weeks, the boys have a whale of a time, messing about, chatting up rich old ladies, spying on Dad as he tends to the First Class passengers, and winding each other up. Things would have been perfect if Eric wasn't such a compulsive liar - telling people the captain is their dad - and nearly coming a cropper when a Swanker Watson from school appears with his snobby parents. Then everything goes horribly wrong. First Mrs Swanker Watson threatens to invite the captain to join her family for dinner, nearly giving the twins a heart attack. Then a gang of modern-day pirates climb aboard to carry out an armed robbery! But Clive and Eric save the day! Between them they manage to stall the pirates and hold them captive, foiling their dastardly plan! Nice work. The boys have been rumbled, but the captain lets them stay on board, and Dad realises his poor boys have been feeling neglected. Things are going to change, he promises - from now he's going to spend more time with them ...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–This present-day high-seas adventure features English twins Eric and Clive, who pick at, quip, and wisecrack with one another as they stow away on the cruise ship where their father is Senior Steward. In this laugh-out-loud story, the boys work their way through each problem confronting stowaways. They merge with a family group in order to embark. They find a sleeping room in "rat class," graze from buffets, lounge by the pool, nearly get stranded at a port of call in Egypt, and manage to stay away from first class, where their father works. Part of their cover-up involves befriending an elderly woman whom cruise mates believe is their grandmother. They out-swank the rich Swanker family by making them believe that the captain is their father and does not want anyone to know that his children are aboard. What one doesn't think of, the other does. Just when the two are discovered, robbers take over the ship, and father and sons spring into action. Eric tells the story in a voice that engages readers and is reminiscent of Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux (Candlewick, 2003) and Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books (HarperCollins). Eric and Clive are double trouble and double fun.–Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. British twins Clive and Eric usually stay with their grandparents when their widowed father, a steward on luxury cruise ships, is at sea. Dreading boring weeks staring at their grandfather's "great big corduroy bottom" as he gardens, the boys decide to stow away on their father's ship. Miraculously, they slip through security and find bunks in an empty storage closet--"rat class," as Clive says. Shearer keeps the ensuing high jinks on a plane of pure slapstick as the boys nearly drown, evade their father and a posh classmate, visit Egypt on a port of call, and thwart a band of modern pirates. Readers may groan over narrator Eric's corny jokes, exaggerated naivete, and "Who's on First" digressions with his brother, whom he loves to disparage. Still, many children will enjoy the British-flavored comedy, the excitement, and the smugness of knowing where the story is headed before the boys do, as well as the understanding and closeness that deepens between the boys and their affectionate father. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1 edition (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689871430
• ISBN-13: 978-0689871436
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Me, October 30, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Sea Legs (Hardcover)

I usually hate to read books but this book inspired me to read. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. It had a lot of humour. The kind of humour that boys like. This story makes me wish that my Dad worked on a cruise ship so I could come along.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, instrusive narrative voice, April 19, 2009

By 

Sura Leah - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sea Legs (Paperback)

This is an engaging story, full of humor, adventure, and suspense that kept my two third-graders hungering for more. Although we appreciated the swagger of the narrative, delivered by one of the young protagonists, we found the dumbed-down "kidspeak"--e.g., "Me and Clive went..."-- intrusive, annoying, and unnecessary to getting the swagger across. Given the author's exquisite narrative gift, as manifested in *Canned,* for example, he could probably have attained the desired tone here with no sacrifice to the storyline or Eric's character.

5.0 out of 5 stars I wept as I read this, April 25, 2007

By 

B. Eames "teacher man" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sea Legs (Paperback)

I read this book aloud to my class of 5th and 6th graders. Half the sessions that I read I had to stop because I was laughing so hard that tears streamed down my cheeks. These interruptions greatly irritated the students, who loved the story. It is witty, compelling, and sarcastically hilarious. I will be reading this to classrooms for many years to come.