Sky Island (A Trot & Cap'n Bill Adventure #2)

Gr 3-6—Fans of Sea Sirens, Trot and Cap'n Bill's first adventure, will dive right into this exciting, beautifully rendered story. After tossing countless messages into the sea, Trot finally gets an answer from her underwater friends—and it's an urgent summons. With her grandfather and her hilarious, scrappy cat Cap'n Bill, Trot travels to the sea floor, where King Anko and Princess Clia inform the trio that their sea siren friend Merla has been kidnapped. Following their only clue, a symbol on a boat, Trot and the others visit Rosalie Rodriguez, a lonely, reclusive millionaire whose father once owned Sky Island, a landmass surrounded by clouds that held a fantastical amusement park. With Rosalie as their guide, they travel onward in the hopes of locating Merla. Boating into the thick fog, they find the isolated island much changed, taken over as a stronghold by a strange, possibly malicious millionaire, Dr. Buluru. Can Trot and company save Merla? Can Cap'n Bill continue to be the funniest and best cat ever? The plot is quick and intriguing, with fantastical creatures that suck readers even further into the gorgeous magical realism of Trot's world. Lee's artwork is remarkable with natural, fluid lines. VERDICT Readers who didn't pick up Sea Sirens when it came out should seize their chance to grab both of these recommended reads.—Abby Bussen, Muskego Public Library, WI