Culpepper's Cannon

November 1, 1992
Gr 4-8- -Trying to introduce Paulsen to reluctant readers? Don't be surprised if all three of these series entries achieve cult status with that audience. Dirty Bird features brainy Duncan and his klutzy sidekick, Amos, whose scrapes are somewhat reminiscent of Robert Newton Peck's "Soup" and friends. Duncan drags Amos to a pet store to do research for a school project. There, they meet a very old parrot who not only smells, but also has a foul mouth and drops hints about a buried treasure. The fast-paced story has short sentences and plenty of dialogue. Occasionally, the plot skips ahead too quickly; toward the end of the story, Paulsen resorts to having the boys fill in the gaps by talking to each other (and to readers) about the missing details, a somewhat clumsy device. However, the light tone and combination of suspense and humor will appeal to many readers. Cannon is a bit less hyperactive and is sure to leave readers looking forward to the next adventure. Here, Amos discovers an old message inside a Civil War cannon that tells the boys how to travel through time. But he soon discovers the past isn't at all to his liking. As in the other titles, Amos's klutziness and fascination with a girl provide comic moments. The plot is somewhat smoother than Dirty Bird and Doll, although the disappearance of the time-travel mechanism seems a bit too convenient. In Doll, Amos and Dunc team up to find a stolen antique doll. This one is truly funny, and most of the comedy comes from Amos's hair-raising encounters with a persistent Rottweiler. As in Dirty Bird, the book suffers slightly from the author's tendency to fast-forward the plot for the sake of brevity. Still, frantic action, short sentences, and large doses of fun and suspense make this an easy read. -Ruth Smith, formerly at Chicago Public Library