Lottie's Adventure: Facing The Monster, is an action-packed children's book written especially for ages 8 through 14. Children will enjoy this exciting read while also improving their reading skills. Twenty nine chapters filled with twists and turns keep kids reading to discover the outcome.
Lottie, a lively ten-year old Hispanic girl, longs for something new and different in her life. Her summers up to this point have all been, more or less, the same. Then the arrival of a magical letter and a TV newscast transforms her vacation time in a high adventure.
Her great adventure includes trying to relate to a cold, estranged, and rich grandmother, freeing a kidnapped ten-year-old African American boy from a locked room, hiding him in a safe place, and then fleeing with him from a kidnapper who is always just a step or two behind.
Lottie's Adventure: Facing the Monster has a new title and cover but it's still the same great story described in the wonderful reviews below. Barbara is a great story teller and her skills are brilliantly reflect in this book for children 8 to 80.
Lottie's Adventure is a vibrant chapter book mystery for preteens that emphasizes the importance of intergenerational communication and love as well as the immense value of thinking beyond cultural stereotypes. To develop a new moral code or vision, both these elements are crucial. Perhaps the most striking quality of "Lottie's Adventure: Facing The Monster" is its powerful positive energy. Featuring a spunky 10-year-old Hispanic heroine, "Lottie's Adventure" keeps interest high and pages turning with exciting plot twists and turns and believable cliffhangers that just keep evolving. The author allows her characters to develop very naturally, with total authenticity. There are many excellent ideas embedded in the story, not the least of which is that people, even wise adults, can learn to admit they are wrong. "Lottie's Adventure" goes a long way towards building a viable alternative to prejudice, and for that and many other reasons, it is highly recommended juvenile reading for kids age 10 and up.
(Review from The Midwest Book Review)
It's an exciting thriller that makes you want to keep on reading.
Adam Lubbers, age 12
