Charlie Archbold: The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-bottomed Boat (Text Publishing 2022)
Andy lives in a small coastal town with his mother and her new husband in tropical Australia. His best friend Eli’s cousin Jacob is arrested for stealing jewelry, but the boys know he is innocent. With the help of their friends, the boys must find the culprits before Jacob’s trial begins. One of the pieces of the puzzle is a red-bottomed boat, which lies abandoned somewhere deep in the mangrove swamp. However, the way to get there is through the territory of Sebastian the legendary and gigantic crocodile.
The main message of the story is the importance of friendship and the truth. The characters are nice and real. During the investigation, they do not perform neither fantastic nor incredible actions, but use their own strength to uncover the truth. I especially liked that the author depicted the landscapes in great detail: the lush sugarcane plantations, the humid mangrove swamp and the rainforest, which was given this name for a good reason. The protection of animals also plays an important role in the story.
Charlie Archbold was born in London and fell in love with storytelling as a child. During her work as a teacher, she learned how to connect with her readers and her books have already won several awards. She currently lives and creates in Australia. In the next Sugarcane Kids story, Andy and his friends track down a missing parrot and a python.
