Thursday 22 November 2018

Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China by Sherry Ellis (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)


September 2018, Dancing Lemur Press, 96 pages, Ebook, Review copy

Book summary 
Squirt doesn't believe Bubba can dig a hole to China. But when the hole swallows them, the kids find themselves in Xi'an, China, surrounded by Terracotta Warriors. 

It gets worse when the ghost of the first emperor of China appears. He tells them they can't go home until they find his missing pi. The kids don't know where to begin until they meet a girl and her grandmother who promise to help find the pendant. 

Soon they realize they are being followed. And they are no closer to finding the missing pi. Will Bubba and Squirt ever make it back home?


Nayu's thoughts 
My cat Belle frequently seems to dig down to Australia in her litter tray, it's a concept that I've come across a lot in my life but almost never in a book. I was intrigued about Bubba and Squirt's adventure because I've never been to China, and it sounds a fascinating place. That and I love sibling themed novels! 

It amused me that Bubba is actually the younger brother, and Squirt is the older sister, because I've only ever heard of the name/term squirt used for a younger sibling. I felt sorry for Squirt because there was a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, to keep Bubba safe and get them both home, two difficult tasks with people after them, determined to thwart their mission. The ghostly encounters aren't overly scary - trust me, I scare easily and I wasn't spooked at all. The scary part was the fact the siblings didn't know how to get home for a while, and people were trying to prevent their return. As much as they enjoyed the new friends and food in China, home was where they wanted to be. 

Another reason why I enjoyed this book was because I've seen a replica of the Terracotta warriors at a theme park called Splendid China in Florida, near Disney World when I was younger. I don't know if the park still exists, but it was so much fun going round and seeing models to a specific scale. The way the warriors are described you don't need to have seen what they look like, but it did enhance the tale for me. There are just so many of the statues, each one being unique because every person is unique: even if when I initially saw them they all looked the same because I hadn't met any Chinese people. Apologies if that's not politically correct, it's just how things were when I was little. 

I like how Bubba rushes head first into things, whereas as expected Squirt tries to think first before acting, which is how they ended up in China in the first place. I felt this matched the reality of two siblings, with one being older by a few years. It felt completely realistic when certain characters believe the duo's tale and decided to help them in their adventure, because sometimes there are events that can't be explained with logic, you have to go with your heart. I'm sure Bubba will lead Squirt into more adventures in the future, which I'm very eager to read! There is a glossary at the back explaining how to pronounce key words used in the story, some information about the time period the story is set in, and even a recipe for you to try! 




Find out more on Sherry's website

Suggested read
For more sibling adventure involving a tunnel for younger readers try Marge and the Secret Tunnel by Isla Fisher and Eglantine Ceulemams (Children's, 7 years +, 10E/10E) 
 




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