The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt. 9781442421059. 2013. Gr 4-7.
Young Chad loves Sugar Man Swamp, where he and his mom make sugar cane pies at the family’s Paradise Pies Cafe. But Sonny Boy Beaucoup, their landlord, has other ideas for their land and the surrounding swamp. He wants to fill in the swamp and turn it into the Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, which will make him even richer than he is now. Chad and his mom will get tossed out unless they can come up with a boatload of money.
More problems loom on the horizon. Wild pigs, crazy for sweets, have heard about the sugar cane in the swamp and are making their way as fast as they can. If they tear up the cane, there won’t be any sugar cane left to make pies for the cafe.
Of course, the pigs will first need to battle with the rattlesnakes that live in the cane…
Bingo and J’miah are brand-new members of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts, entrusted with the care and safety of the swamp. If danger threatens, they are to find and wake the Sugar Man—the huge mythic creature that rules over the swamp—and hope that he isn’t too cranky when he wakes! It’s a big responsibility for two little raccoons…
Kathi Appelt’s latest is great fun—and more light-hearted than The Underneath and Keeper—despite all the dangers to be found in the Sugar Man Swamp. This book is not dark or scary—just a lot of excitement for middle grade readers who like their adventures with a bit of magic and a lot of heart.
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