The Man with the Red Bag
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bunting (The Lambkins) turns her attention to racial prejudice and suspicion in post 9/11 America in this gripping story. Twelve-year-old mystery enthusiast Kevin agrees to accompany his grandmother on a 10-day bus tour of national parks, culminating with Mount Rushmore. But when Charles Stavros, a man who looks "Saudi Arabian or Iraqian" to Kevin joins the tour, Kevin and other passengers become nervous ("He was dark skinned, with bushy black eyebrows and a bushier mustache. So maybe it was natural for me to be on the alert.... I think that little 9/11 bell alarm bell was ringing for all of us,"). The passengers' preoccupation with terrorists is believable, as are the elaborate scenarios and possibilities that Kevin and several kids on the bus concoct to convince themselves that Stavros, who has a red bag he carries everywhere, is one. Bunting avoids moralistic judgments or delivering her message with a heavy hand, and readers will find themselves drawn in to (and possibly sharing) Kevin's suspicions, making the revelation of the truth about Stavros all the more powerful. Ages 10-up.
