Quick Take - The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean

Geraldine McCaughrean has shown tremendous range in her writing as well as the ability to turn research into entertaining and gripping stories. The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen is no different. Cissy, Kookie, and Tibbie must leave their little town in Oklahoma when Diptheria hits. Along with their often stern school teacher Miss May March, they set out on the train to find their former teacher, Loucien Shades Crew and her husband Everett who, along with a host of other interesting characters, live aboard a showboat and are The Bright Lights Theater Company. The Sunshine Queen, temporarily run ashore, finds its way back into the waters of the Numchuck River in Missouri and then the adventure really starts. The Bright Lights Theater Company picks up a crazy cast of performers and set off to try and make their own fortune on the river. Along the way they have to deal with a pirate, some angry townsfolk, and a particularly nasty swindler who tries to take the Sunshine Queen from them.

At first the cast of characters is a bit hard to keep track of since they have names like Cissy and Kookie and Boisenberry (which is where the handy cast of characters page comes in), but once the story is in motion, keeping track of the characters becomes easier. Each one has a distinct set of circumstances and their own personality. Thankfully, each personality is so individual and unique that you quickly forgive the sheer wackiness that abounds in the book. The book is laugh out loud funny at times as Cissy and Kookie often find themselves in situations they shouldn't and Everett has to talk his way out of problem after problem. The final situation near the end of the book seems too good to be true for a group of roving actors and musicians and McCaughrean seems to write with relish as Cissy really comes into her own to solve the problem head on.

Like many books for younger readers, there are lessons to be learned. Kookie finds out first hand what greed can do to a person and those around him and only gets out of it thanks to a quick thinking Everett and company. Cissy learns to find the strength to deal with her own problems and stand up for herself in hilarious fashion at times and even the often faint Tibbie gets some happiness in learning something new. Of course, there are other lessons to be learned as well, but I wouldn't want to go into too much detail and ruin the fun of discovery.

The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen is a heck of an entertaining read from start to finish. You know you're in for it when the book begins with an awfully spelled letter from a former teacher, but that's what makes the book so fun - the unpredictability of it all. A very enjoyable book from a very talented author; highly Recommended Reading for fans of well written juvenile fiction adventure stories. Also, be sure to check out Stop the Train! which is the first story featuring many of the characters in the Sunshine Queen.