Description:

Waldo “W.B.” Baron is back with another amazing adventure in another incredible invention! Pirate treasure? A clandestine meeting? A terribly rude monkey with personal boundary and hygiene issues? Two of those things sound like a dream come true to W.B, whose clever inventor parents are hired―by the Vice President!―to go on a super secret and intensely important treasure hunt to repay a national debt. If only it weren’t for that lousy, rude monkey, it would be the beginning of a perfect adventure. But at least it isn’t squirrels…

The treasure hunt gives the Baron family the opportunity to use their exceptional steam-powered submarine, fresh and ready for adventure! But things are seldom straightforward for the eccentric Baron family, and this treasure hunt is no exception. W.B.’s trademark bad luck has him suffering monstrous marine misfortune and marauding monkey misery.

Can the Baron family embark on their newest adventure without the eggy and depressing Aunt Dorcas? Will the Barons find the treasure they seek? Will they save the country from financial ruin? Where does the monkey fit in, anyway? Do we like asking questions? Not really, but inside you’ll meet someone who likes asking questions and then answering them (despite his claims to the contrary, he really does like it).

~Goodreads~

MY BOOK REVIEW:

Adventure, quirky antics and jokes, monkey side-kick, inventions and loads of madcap fun, if you want them all, then this book series is for you. Great for ages 7 through to 10. Some parts are a bit immature and silly, but perfect for this group of young readers. Plot tends to drag in spots but overall, this isn’t the worse part.

I regret not having a printed copy of this book because I believe I would have appreciated the illustrations more. As it stands, I was not impressed with them. All black and white and not placed on the page in the best place to compliment the written text. This is unfortunate and I feel it may take away from the story.  The appeal of black and white illustrations to this age group could be a hit and miss situation–mostly a miss.   They give the story a bland feel.

This is an ongoing issue I’ve notice with ARCs provided electronically for this genre. Something is sadly missing in eBooks involving the most important component of children’s books in the earlier sub-genres, that thing being colorful illustrations that can only be appreciated by holding a print copy in your hands. I wonder if this factor will impact the electronic sales of children’s books.

Finally, I want to add that there’s a whole series ahead, so make sure you read them all!

I give this book: