Fairy Tale Spotlight: The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp [Book Review]

"The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp" is a novel written by Kathi Appelt. It was published in 2013. This is like a long children's book intended for 8 to 12 years, but I think it works fine for adults honestly. I do agree with that age range, and this would be a good book to really get the reading gears turning.

I admit that when I first began this book I did not really enjoy it very much. It looked like it was just going to be a glorified "save the environment" book, but this book really just sort of meanders about its own things and doesn't really ever sound preachy. And that's good. Look, I think the environment should be looked after, but I am here to read a work of fiction, not be preached to.

The story is about a number of things. It is about a swamp. It is about two raccoons that live in an old car in that swamp. It is about a boy who runs a pie shop with his mother in yet the same swamp. It is about two rich jerks who want to turn that same swamp into a theme park. (That's the eco-friendly message part.) There is also this book's version of Big Foot which in this case is called the Sugar Man. He also lives in the swamp.

The raccoons consider themselves scouts. Whenever lightning strikes near the old car, it briefly turns on and they hear the radio for a few seconds, enough to get what they think is a secret message for a mission they should be on. Very cute. I liked everything about that. But this aspect of the story is mixed with a lot of other things. On top of the swamp soon to be bulldozed over by rich people, there are some hogs that are coming from somewhere with the intent to smash everything up.

Honestly, I don't want to get into every single plot point this book has. The thing I do want you to understand that once all the points of this story have been stated, they get recycled rather redundantly over and over again until the end of the story. A kid might enjoy that, but I began to groan after the 20th or 40th time. It's not bad, but it did grate on me a bit.

The whole book is really just about trying to save the swamp from a number of things, and humans, animals, and the Sugar Man have to work together to make that happen. Really, it's not bad. I'm serious. I know it sounds bad. Just trust me. It's a children's book that is just trying to have fun. Relax.

The book does employ a lot of colloquialisms. I mean a lot! Holy crap. It doesn't ever stop. It's written like some guy with a banjo is trying to tell me a story. Once again, it does sometimes get on my nerves. I just want the story. I don't need to be addressed as "sports fans" every few paragraphs. (It really wasn't that bad. I promise. I'm a grumpy, old malcontent.)

I think the point I am trying to make here is that the book is good enough to read. The author tells a down-to-earth story that was fun and interesting. It does make rich people look like total dick-weeds. I feel like those villains were pulled directly out of 90's children's movies. Anyways, I recommend the book. It wasn't that bad. Give it a shot if you like raccoons, or Big Foot, or pies. There are a lot of pies in this book.

This blog was written on October 14, 2024.

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