The Unsinkable Walker Bean

Title:               The Unsinkable Walker Bean
Category:       Juvenile, Graphic Novel
Grade:            3 - 6
Author:          Aaron Renier
Illustrator:      Aaron Renier
Publisher:       First Second
Date:               2010
Pages:             192

Summary:     

Young inventor Walker Bean has always loved his grandfather’s adventure tales about the city of Atlantis and the evil Merwitch sisters with their magic wall of bones.  When his grandfather obtains a skull from the wall and becomes deathly ill, Walker must find a way to return the skull to the trench where the Merwitch sisters live.  His father, a mysterious “doctor,” and a band of pirates all want the skull, and the skull itself is determined to wreak havoc.  Walker stows away on the pirate ship, stealing the skull, and hatches a plan with his new friends to trick the crew into sailing toward the trench.  Things become even more complicated with the discovery that the monstrous sisters are close on the ship’s tail, determined to regain the skull and destroy Walker and his friends in the process. 

Review:

A thrilling swashbuckler of a tale in the tradition of Treasure Island that will keep even reluctant readers glued to the pages.