Wednesday
Tuesday
The Brain Finds a Leg
Written by Martin Chatterton
Revolting animals. Strange people. Life will never be the same.
Something strange is happening in Farrago Bay, and Sheldon McGlone is determined to get to the bottom of it. The local wildlife is behaving oddly and so are some of the people, particularly Sheldon’s teacher, the weird and elusive Miss Fleming. It doesn’t help that Sheldon is being relentlessly pursued by bullies—including his own older brother.
Just when things couldn’t get much worse, a new kid turns up in Sheldon’s classroom. Theophilus Brain, aka “The Brain,” has an extraordinary imagination and some bizarre ideas about what is ailing Farrago Bay. Armed with two astonishing clues—a human leg and a crocodile who likes to play fetch—Sheldon and The Brain turn detective and uncover a web of evil that stretches across two continents.
Author Martin Chatterton has crafted a wonderfully imaginative mystery that features memorable, well-drawn characters and an over-the-top storyline. The surprising and occasionally hilarious plot twists will engage and delight young readers.
Martin Chatterton was born in Liverpool and attended art college in London. He has worked successfully in the publishing and design business. He is author to more than twenty books and the illustrator of more than eighty books. He lives in Australia and can be found online at www.worldofchatterton.com
The Brain Finds a Leg
Written by Martin Chatterton
Peachtree Publishers
ISBN 978-1-56145-5
03-4
Price: $16.95
October 2009
Ages 10-14
Interested in participating in the blog tour? Contact Erin Deedy at deedy@peachtree-online.com
Kirkus Review of "The Brain Finds a Leg"
THE BRAIN FINDS A LEG
Chatterton, Martin
From Australia comes one wild comedy. Writing a combination of loony science fiction, absurd mystery and normal teen angst, Chatterton has a ball trying to make his story as outrageous as possible, and young readers who crave literary insanity will love reading it. Theophilus Brain-"The Brain"-is a new student in hero Sheldon's homeroom class.
Modeling himself after Sherlock Holmes, The Brain claims to have become superintelligent by falling into his parents' "genius machine." Sheldon, now enjoying sidekick status, doesn't believe him, but he can't deny that oddities suddenly abound in his little town. The obnoxious local surfing champ appears to have been murdered and is missing his leg. The animals have taken on different personae: Kangaroos become burglars; timid koalas kill. Perhaps the most endearing character is Mavis, an enormous crocodile who thinks she's a dog. Several deaths in the story war against the comedy but the laughs win. Readers shouldn't expect anything remotely realistic and instead surrender themselves to the industrial-strength zaniness. (Adventure. 10-14)