GRAYSEN FOXX AND THE TREASURE OF PRINCIPAL REDBEARD, by J. Scott Savage, Shadow Mountain, March 6, 2023, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
A young adventurer sets out to find a prized treasure in Graysen Foxx and the Treasure of Principal Redbeard, by J. Scott Savage.
Ordinary Elementary is anything but ordinary. Below the classrooms are winding, abandoned, underground passages filled with lost treasures. Fifth-grader Graysen Foxx, aka The Gray Fox ― finder of secrets, solver of mysteries, and explorer of the unknown ― is hot on the trail of the legendary treasure of Principal Redbeard, which includes decades of confiscated gadgets, rare comic books, first-edition Pokémon trading cards, an original Rubik’s Cube, and a retro handheld video game.
Graysen is determined to find the treasure and share it with his fellow students. His nemesis, Raven Ransom ― nicknamed “Red Raven” ― plans to stop him and claim the prizes for herself, just like she did with the game-winning home run kickball everyone thought was lost on the roof of the school.
Wearing his adventurer-iconic fedora, journaling in his field notebook, and wielding his elastic stretchy hand, Graysen is ready for action. But can he avoid the second-grade spy network working for Raven? Could the third-grade twins, Maya and Jack, give him an advantage? Can he avoid the ruthless sixth graders while trying to protect the innocent first graders? And who is the mysterious Midnight Moth who is leaving cryptic notes and riddles?
It’s a battle between courage and cunning, smarts and shrewdness, charity and cheating. With the treasure on the line, can Graysen trust his rival ― or is it just another one of her traps? May the best treasure hunter win! —Synopsis provided by Shadow Mountain
You may remember author J. Scott Savage from his Mystery of the Cove books about dragons for middle readers. That popular fantasy series skewed slightly older, while the first book of his new series — Graysen Foxx, School Treasure Hunter — skews slightly younger.
The best part of Graysen Foxx and the Treasure of Principal Redbeard is Graysen himself. From the start, Savage has Graysen’s voice nailed down. Graysen’s snappy tone, his bravado, his sense of adventure all practically fly off the page. And, thanks to Graysen’s narration, the story unfolds in an almost cinematic fashion.
Graysen Foxx and the Treasure of Principal Redbeard starts out with a bang, and the action doesn’t stop. Savage’s pacing is fast — although he does allow room for taking a few breaths here and there — and engaging. And Brandon Dorman’s illustrations, which are sprinkled throughout, take the creativity up a notch and provide a visual break for those who need it.
Graysen Foxx and the Treasure of Principal Redbeard is the sort of adventure that even the most reluctant of readers will get caught up in. It’s fun to read aloud, and would work well in a classroom setting. I can see this becoming a go-to series for lots of mystery-loving, adrenaline-seeking readers.
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