Far-Flung Adventures: Fergus Crane
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
FERGUS CRANE! YOU ARE IN GREAT DANGER! I AM SENDING HELP.
Signed T. C., your long-lost Uncle Theo
Fergus Crane has an almost ordinary life—having lessons taught by rather odd teachers on the school ship Betty Jeanne and helping his mother in the bakery. But then a mysterious flying box appears at the window of his waterfront home and Fergus is plunged headlong into an exciting adventure! The box is followed by a winged mechanical horse that whisks him off to meet his long-lost uncle and his penguin helpers, Finn, Bill, and Jackson. Fergus finds out that his teachers are not quite what they seem— they’re actually pirates! Can Fergus and his winged horse save his schoolmates on the far-off Fire Island? And who else will he find there?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stewart and Riddell, fresh from the success of their Edge Chronicles series, start anew with a style that is part Dickensian comedy, part pirate adventure. Ten-year-old Fergus Crane and his mother live in near-poverty; she runs the cake counter at the village bakery and assembles paper horses to earn extra money, he attends school aboard the Betty-Jeanne, a docked boat staffed by teachers with eye patches and hooks for hands. One night, a silver box with wings flies into Fergus's bedroom; it soon returns with a warning note ("Fergus Crane, you are in great danger! I am sending help... your long lost Uncle Theo"). The next night, he gets a visit from a mechanical Pegasus that whisks him away to the Fateful Voyage Trading Company. There he finds not only Uncle Theo but a ship's log that offers insight into the fate of his missing father. Talking penguins, a lunchbox that can draw maps and a musical about a fish on a bicycle contribute to the overall air of endearing silliness; the narrative incorporates these amusingly ludicrous elements with matter-of-fact ease. As with the Edge Chronicles, creative page layouts incorporate Riddell's whimsical illustrations in unusual ways, at times pleasingly blurring the line between novel and graphic novel. Ages 8-12.
