Mr. Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets

July 15, 2019
Mr. Penguin and his intrepid band face adventure once more following series opener Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure (2019). Adventurer Mr. Penguin is once again joined by Colin the kung fu spider, the handy Edith Hedge (a human with an elastic definition of borrowing), and silent pigeon Gordon on a mysterious mission. While attempting to recover the Enigma Stone for Professor Stout-Girdle, the group crash-lands their--urm, borrowed plane on a mountaintop near the tiny snowbound town of Schneedorf-on-the-Peak. Siblings Dieter and Lisle Strudel rescue them from a certain snowy demise and then ask their assistance. There are strange goings-on in the village (all the rodents are vanishing), and the abandoned fortress built by Grandfather Grimm has suddenly come back to life. Can the two occurrences be connected? Can the adventurers and their new kid friends find and rescue the rodents of the town in time for the 32nd International Rodent Games? Who is Dr. Mesmero, and what is her diabolical plan? And will Mr. Penguin ever see Cityville again...or get another fish finger sandwich? Mr. Penguin's second caper is as silly as the first, and as disappointing in its casting of the only apparent human of color--Edith--as a thief. Pages from Dr. Mesmero's journal, black-and-white illustrations with pops of orange, and occasional orange pages break up the short chapters. Fans will be happy more adventures are in the offing. (Adventure. 6-11)

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