The Elementary Adventures of Jones, JEEP, Buck & Blue: Book 3 ~ Buck

This book combines the previous chapter books and adds some illustrations. Sandra Miller Linhart has a great way of telling each child’s story and then incorporating, bringing all the characters together to complete the picture. She has spotlighted many situations military children face and how they are able to cope. This is a touching and sometimes funny look at their lives. A well written and thoughtful presentation.

Sandra Miller Linhart in The Elementary Adventures of Jones, JEEP, Buck, & Blue has written a great book for children, probably third grade and up. These books can be found as singles, but I thoroughly enjoyed having them all together, so I could just read from one to another. Each story is titled for one of the characters in the book, and the story is written from his/her perspective.

I grew to love all four of the characters who present a very diverse group of friends. JEEP (James Edward Eugene Parker…gotta love it!!) at first called the other three “misfits,” before he banded with them. They are great kids, each dealing with his/her own problems causing a struggle to fit in for different reasons: one’s father was killed while serving his country, another’s parents had to move across the country for months due to her father’s injuries while serving in the military, another is living with his grandfather due to his parents being in rehab dealing with alcoholism, and the last is a very bright kid who is small for his age, but part of a large adoptive family.

These kids grow to be a true support system for each other. The fun part of the book is that the author has these kids getting into all sorts of adventures. As an adult, I enjoyed the book very much and will recommend it to students looking for a great read. I was given the book for the purposes of writing a review. I’m thankful for the opportunity, and for the fact that it isn’t always easy to find such great stories for the “tweens” to read.