The New York Times Book Review - Lisa Von Drasek
…Appelt returns to the folksy narrative voice of her beloved picture book, Bubba and Beau, Best Friends. Her mastery of pacing and tone makes for wonderful reading aloud, even to children who would happily take on a relatively long novel on their own…In short chapters, in a style reminiscent of Holes, by Louis Sachar, Appelt tells a mythic tale with a rich cast of characters. And as in Carl Hiaasen's Hoot, the threat of an impending environmental disaster moves the plot along…Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp is.
Publishers Weekly - Audio
09/02/2013
Legendary country music singer Lyle Lovett lends his voice to this tale of two raccoon brothers, Bingo and J’miah, and their quest to awaken the mystical Sugar Man who rules the swamp. Lovett’s voice is smooth as silk and Southern to the core; it is quite simply the perfect fit for this charming tale. His delivery is well paced and his tone that of a wise old seer who knows all and has no trouble teaching others about right and wrong. The result is an absolutely entertaining listening experience that will appeal to listeners of all ages, just as the story itself is a timeless moral lesson about helping those in need. Ages 8–12. An Atheneum hardcover. (July)
Publishers Weekly
Told from the perspectives of animals and humans, Appelt’s (The Underneath) rollicking tall tale exposes the trouble brewing in Sugar Man swamp. The main concern of Bingo and J’miah, two raccoon Swamp Scouts, is the approaching brood of feral hogs, which could destroy the precious canebrake sugar used to make fried pies at the local Paradise Pies cafe. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Chap Brayburn, the cafe proprietor’s son, is worried about rich, horrible Sonny Boy Beaucoup, who wants to turn the swamp into the “Gator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park.” The swamp’s salvation may lie with the furry, bearlike Sugar Man, whose “hands were as large as palmetto ferns” and “feet were like small boats,” but finding and awakening him is no easy task. The book’s folksy narrative adds brightness and humor to the story as Appelt explores the swamp’s rich history, varied denizens, and current threats. Heroes and villains are drawn in bold strokes, but while there’s little doubt who will emerge victorious, finding out how events unfurl is well worth the read. Art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (July)
STARRED REVIEW Booklist
* "This delicious, richly detailed story is told in 104 short chapters, which swing the plot beautifully from one thread to the next and keep the action moving. Appelt’s omniscient third-person narration exudes folksy, homespun warmth while also feeling fresh and funny. A satisfying romp."
The New York Times Book Review
Kathi Appelt can tell a story. She has published over 30 children’s books, for everyone from toddlers to teenagers, and won awards, including a Newberry Honor, along the way. In “The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp,” aimed at middle-grade readers, Appelt returns to the folksy narrative voice of her beloved picture book, “Bubba and Beau, Best Friends.” Her mastery of pacing and tone makes for wonderful reading aloud, even to children who would happily take on a relatively long novel on their own. There is music in her prose: ‘For as long as raccoons had inhabited the Sugar Man Swamp, which was eons, they had been the Official Scouts, ordained by the Sugar Man himself back in the year Aught One, also known as the beginning of time.’…In short chapters, in a style reminiscent of “Holes” by Louis Sachar, Appelt tells a mythic tale with a rich cast of characters. And as in Carl Hiaasen’s “Hoot,” the threat of an impending environmental disaster moves the plot along…Appelt takes her readers to spy on a greedy land developer, Sonny Boy Beaucoup, who is plotting with Jaeger Stitch, the World Champion Gator Wrestler of the Northern Hemisphere (her signature move: kissing the defeated reptile on the lips) to implement a nefarious plan to create an adventure theme park on the land, destroying the swamp habitat. And if that isn’t enough excitement, a rampaging gang of huge wild hogs is headed in the direction of Sugar Man Swamp, wrecking everything in its path. ‘Mothers and fathers, lock your doors. Pull the covers up to your chinny chin chins. Head for the hills.’ All that’s missing is a soundtrack by T Bone Burnett. Appelt gracefully balances seemingly unrelated plotlines: the story of fearless Bingo and cautious J’Miah as they set forth on their quest for the Sugar Man, Chap’s determination to save his mother’s Paradise Pies Café and their home by earning a ‘boatload’ of cash, and Grandpa Audie’s swamp adventures…Even as the plot heats up, Appelt keeps the humor coming, as when Chap’s large ginger cat, Sweetums, tries to warn the household of impending disaster. Sadly, none of the humans understand his language, Catalin, and Sweetums runs off in a snit, dodges underneath the bed and starts grooming himself. Appelt ties up all these threads neatly in a triumphant and unexpected confrontation of good and evil. Will Bingo and J’Miah face their fears? Will Chap save his mother’s livelihood and their home? And where is the Sugar Man, anyway? Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but “The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp” is.
STARRED REVIEW Library School Journal
* “Appelt returns with a rich tale set deep in a Texas swamp, full of critters including gators, rattlesnakes, and feral hogs. Brothers Bingo and J’miah are true-blue scouts (raccoons) who have set up house in an abandoned old DeSoto, adorning it with their artwork and following orders from the Voice of Intelligence (actually the lightning-enabled car radio). The young raccoons are affable and easy to root for as they attempt to stop the gang of wild hogs intent on destroying their beloved Muscovado sugar cane…. Appelt has adeptly intertwined the folksy narrative of a tall tale with a perfect blend of adventure and mystery, all the while subtly bringing an ecological message to the surface.
The New York Times
"Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGARMAN SWAMP is."
Peter H. Reynolds
Kathi Appelt’s prose rolls like swamp mist and molasses. A sweet and tangy American classic.
Wall Street Journal - Wall Street Journal
Some books for young readers perfectly capture childhood in a particular time and place.
A trackless swamp of "stinging pricker vines and high-pitched clouds of mosquitoes" could be a fetid place of malevolence and loss, as it was in Kathi Appelt's acclaimed 2008 novel, "The Underneath." But in her new book for young readers, "The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp" (Atheneum, 326 pages, $16.99), the same setting is shot through with rollicking good humor.
The scouts of the title are scrappy young raccoons, Bingo and J'miah, whose job it is to keep watch for a snoozing sasquatch called the Sugar Man and his gigantic pet rattlesnake, Gertrude. On the edge of the bayou, meanwhile, lives a 12-year-old named Chap who has been shrouded in "a big cloud of lonesome" since the death of his grandfather.
As the story opens, the boy is frantic to find a way to save his mother's cafe (specialty: fried sugar pies) from the rapacity of a female gator-wrestler and a bow-tied real-estate developer whose own grandfather—stay with me here—long ago signed a treaty in blood with the Sugar Man himself.
Bearing down on this colorful array of personalities is the Farrow Gang, a family of feral hogs that enjoys nothing so much as to crush and destroy. Feral hogs, the genial omniscient narrator explains, "usually travel in family groups called sounders. Isn't that a great word? 'Sounders'? We just love that. But do we love . . . the Farrow Gang? Friends, there is nothing to love there. Nothing." Ms. Appelt has a genius for causing disparate narrative elements to cohere suddenly and movingly, and her talent is on full display in this zestful romp for 8- to 12-year-olds.
STARRED REIVEW Shelf Awareness
As with her Newbery Honor book The Underneath, Kathi Appelt sets this captivating web of interconnected stories in the ancient forests of piney trees and integrates the alluring lore of the bayou. But she adopts a lighter voice, just right for a storyteller with a Southern drawl to read aloud.
Deep in the Sugar Man Swamp, raccoons Bingo and J'miah serve as Information Officers from the safety of a 1949 DeSoto. Whenever lightning strikes nearby, it triggers "the Voice of Intelligence" (children will quickly realize it's a radio) that often gives them orders. Chap, the 12-year-old grandson of Audie Brayburn, makes it his mission to find his grandfather's DeSoto and complete his quest of locating the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Ever since Audie's recent death, Sonny Boy Beaucoup, "the official owner" of the swamp, has threatened to run Chap and his mother out of their Paradise Pies Café, so that he can set up a theme park. The local radio announcer's daily sign-off bids "all you swamp critters to have a good day and a good idea," and each character gets at least one.
Appelt weaves the rich language of legends passed down through generations. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is as mythical as the Sugar Man. She carries weighty themes lightly, and spins a story that reminds us that kin extends beyond the prescribed family tree. By the end of the story, we understand that that includes "all the swamp critter." As Audie told Chap, they are paisanos, fellow countrymen. They come from the same soil. —Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness
Discover: Newbery Honor author Appelt's return to the bayou setting of The Underneath, with a lighter touch and an environmental theme.
An Na
Kathi Appelt's amazing lyrical language with that perfect Southern cadence draws us deeper and deeper into the world of Sugar Man Swamp. Hilarious and heartfelt, Bingo and J'Miah draw you into their home, into the swamp and we care about each creature as though they are family.
author of the Printz Award-winning and National Bo An NA
Kathi Appelt's amazing lyrical language with that perfect Southern cadence draws us deeper and deeper into the world of Sugar Man Swamp. Hilarious and heartfelt, Bingo and J'Miah draw you into their home, into the swamp and we care about each creature as though they are family.
Harry Bliss
"Appelt 'nailed it.' She has weaved a delightful yarn with a cast of affable characters and somehow manages to make a rusted 1949 DeSoto in a Louisiana swamp a cozy home for two raccoon scouts—absolutely charming.
Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
* "This delicious, richly detailed story is told in 104 short chapters, which swing the plot beautifully from one thread to the next and keep the action moving. Appelt’s omniscient third-person narration exudes folksy, homespun warmth while also feeling fresh and funny. A satisfying romp."
Wall Street Journal
Some books for young readers perfectly capture childhood in a particular time and place.
A trackless swamp of "stinging pricker vines and high-pitched clouds of mosquitoes" could be a fetid place of malevolence and loss, as it was in Kathi Appelt's acclaimed 2008 novel, "The Underneath." But in her new book for young readers, "The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp" (Atheneum, 326 pages, $16.99), the same setting is shot through with rollicking good humor.
The scouts of the title are scrappy young raccoons, Bingo and J'miah, whose job it is to keep watch for a snoozing sasquatch called the Sugar Man and his gigantic pet rattlesnake, Gertrude. On the edge of the bayou, meanwhile, lives a 12-year-old named Chap who has been shrouded in "a big cloud of lonesome" since the death of his grandfather.
As the story opens, the boy is frantic to find a way to save his mother's cafe (specialty: fried sugar pies) from the rapacity of a female gator-wrestler and a bow-tied real-estate developer whose own grandfather—stay with me here—long ago signed a treaty in blood with the Sugar Man himself.
Bearing down on this colorful array of personalities is the Farrow Gang, a family of feral hogs that enjoys nothing so much as to crush and destroy. Feral hogs, the genial omniscient narrator explains, "usually travel in family groups called sounders. Isn't that a great word? 'Sounders'? We just love that. But do we love . . . the Farrow Gang? Friends, there is nothing to love there. Nothing." Ms. Appelt has a genius for causing disparate narrative elements to cohere suddenly and movingly, and her talent is on full display in this zestful romp for 8- to 12-year-olds.
The New York Times
"Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGARMAN SWAMP is."
Na An
“Kathi Appelt's amazing lyrical language with that perfect Southern cadence draws us deeper and deeper into the world of Sugar Man Swamp. Hilarious and heartfelt, Bingo and J'Miah draw you into their home, into the swamp and we care about each creature as though they are family.
starred review Booklist
* "This delicious, richly detailed story is told in 104 short chapters, which swing the plot beautifully from one thread to the next and keep the action moving. Appelt’s omniscient third-person narration exudes folksy, homespun warmth while also feeling fresh and funny. A satisfying romp."
School Library Journal - Audio
★ 11/01/2013
Gr 3–7—Appelt's latest work (Atheneum, 2013) features a host of eccentric characters including two raccoon scouts, Bingo and J'miah; a 12-year-old boy named Chap who is grieving his grandfather's death; and the Sugar Man, a Yeti-type creature who has been asleep for 60 years. The raccoon brothers are tasked with waking the Sugar Man if the swamp is threatened. On their first night as scouts, they feel an ominous rumble of oncoming wild hogs. Meanwhile, the man who owns the swampland is planning to pave it and put up a gator-wrestling park. This angers Chap, who cherishes the natural beauty of the swamp and whose mom makes the most delicious pies with the sugar cane. Lyle Lovett's rolling drawl and warm tone is the perfect complement to Appelt's tale (S & S/Atheneum, 2013) with an environmental message. It's a little disappointing that he doesn't actually sing the lullaby used to keep the rattlesnakes at bay. Appelt writes with a rhythmic cadence and some random rhymes that Lovett delivers with flair. With tension and humor, this charming tale highlights teamwork, family, and especially community.—C.A Fehmel, St. Louis County Library, MO
AUGUST 2013 - AudioFile
As narrator, Lyle Lovett creates a mesmerizing bayou setting with his smooth and fluid reading. He aptly conveys the descriptive and down-to-earth quality of these interwoven stories about two raccoon scouts who maintain peace in their home on the swamp and 12-year-old Chap, who is trying to help his mother make ends meet with their sugar pie shop after the death of Chap’s beloved grandfather. While Lovett’s purposeful pacing reveals elements of the bayou’s quiet mystery, his voice is lively when he lets loose with the rousing sounds of the wildlife, such as the hissing of the snake, the shrieks of feral hogs, and the signature howl of DJ Coyote Jim as he bays greetings to radio listeners. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
When rogue feral hogs and a greedy developer threaten to wipe out Sugar Man Swamp, two raccoons know it's time to rouse the legendary Sugar Man. Mythic Sugar Man has reigned over Sugar Man Swamp for a "gazillion yesterdays." Raccoons Bingo and J'miah descend from a line of Official Scouts Sugar Man designated to watch over the swamp and alert him in an emergency. Twelve-year-old Chap has also grown up along the swamp, where his mother operates Paradise Pies Café. Like his recently deceased grandfather, Chap cherishes the swamp. When the swamp's sleazy owner, Sunny Boy Beaucoup, threatens to evict them to convert the swamp into Gator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, Chap takes his grandfather's place to preserve what he loves. When Bingo and J'miah discover feral hogs descending on the swamp to pulverize the native sugarcane, they risk Sugar Man's wrath and wake him. Set in the east Texas bayou, like The Underneath (2008) and Keeper (2010), this playful tale teems with bayou flora, fauna and folklore. In a honeyed dialect, the omnipresent narrator directly engages readers, ricocheting between the hilarious human and critter dramas to a riotous finale. A rollicking, ripping tall tale with ecological subtext. (art not seen) (Fantasy. 10-14)
