The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
School year: Year 4, Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, Year 8, Year 9
No. of pages 352
Published: 2014
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Raccoon brothers Bingo and J'miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man--the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp--is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts.
Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he'll do anything to help protect it.
And help is surely needed, because world-class alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch wants to turn Sugar Man swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and the troubles don't end there. There is also a gang of wild feral hogs on the march, headed straight toward them all.
The Scouts are ready. All they have to do is wake up the Sugar Man. Problem is, no one's been able to wake that fellow up in a decade or four...
Newbery Honoree and Kathi Appelt's story of care and conservation has received five starred reviews, was selected as a National Book Award finalist, and is funny as all get out and ripe for reading aloud.
This book is the winner of numerous awards
This book is aimed at children at US 3rd grade-7th grade.
This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.
There are 352 pages in this book. This book was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster .
Animals in literature
Mammals in literature
Nature in literature
British Book Industry: Children's Book of the Year
This book has been nominated for the following awards:
Keystone to Reading Award - Intermediate
This book was recognised in the Intermediate category by the Keystone to Reading Book Award.
Georgia Children's Book Award
The Georgia Childrens Book Award is a distinguished annual award that recognizes outstanding childrens literature and aims to promote a love of reading among young readers in Georgia. Established in 1985, the award is sponsored by the Georgia Association of Educators and is designed to encourage children to engage with quality literature. Each year, a committee selects a list of nominated books then students in grades K-5 vote for their favourite titles from that nominated list.
Cybils Award - Speculative Fiction
This book was recognised in the Speculative Fiction category by the Cybils Award. The Cybils Awards is a group of readers passionate about seeking out and recognizing books that represent diversity, inclusion, and appropriate representation for children and teens. To accomplish that goal, the Cybils Awards works to recognize books written for children and young adults that combine both the highest literary merit and popular appeal.
Volunteer State Book Award - Intermediate
This book was recognised in the Intermediate category by the Volunteer State Book Award.
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books - Audiobook
This book was recognised in the Audiobook category of the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books.
The Audies
This book was recognised by the The Audies.
National Book Award
This book was recognised by the National Book Award.
William Allen White Childens Book Award - Grades 6-8
This book was recognised in the Grades 6-8 category by the William Allen White Childens Book Award.
Nene Award
This book was recognised by the Nene Award.
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
This book was recognised by the Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award.
Kentucky Blue Grass Award - Grades 3-5
This book was recognised in the Grades 3-5 category by the Kentucky Blue Grass Award.
South Carolina Childrens Junior and Young Adult Book Award
This book was recognised by the South Carolina Childrens Junior and Young Adult Book Award.
Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Audiobook
This book was recognised in the Audiobook category by the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens.
* "Appelt returns with a rich tale set deep in a Texas swamp, full of critters including gators, rattlesnakes, and feral hogs. Brothers Bingo and J'miah are true-blue scouts (raccoons) who have set up house in an abandoned old DeSoto, adorning it with their artwork and following orders from the Voice of Intelligence (actually the lightning-enabled car radio). The young raccoons are affable and easy to root for as they attempt to stop the gang of wild hogs intent on destroying their beloved Muscovado sugar cane.... Appelt has adeptly intertwined the folksy narrative of a tall tale with a perfect blend of adventure and mystery, all the while subtly bringing an ecological message to the surface."--Library School Journal, STARRED REVIEW
*"As with her Newbery Honor book The Underneath, Kathi Appelt sets this captivating web of interconnected stories in the ancient forests of piney trees and integrates the alluring lore of the bayou. But she adopts a lighter voice, just right for a storyteller with a Southern drawl to read aloud.
Deep in the Sugar Man Swamp, raccoons Bingo and J'miah serve as Information Officers from the safety of a 1949 DeSoto. Whenever lightning strikes nearby, it triggers "the Voice of Intelligence" (children will quickly realize it's a radio) that often gives them orders. Chap, the 12-year-old grandson of Audie Brayburn, makes it his mission to find his grandfather's DeSoto and complete his quest of locating the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Ever since Audie's recent death, Sonny Boy Beaucoup, "the official owner" of the swamp, has threatened to run Chap and his mother out of their Paradise Pies Caf , so that he can set up a theme park. The local radio announcer's daily sign-off bids "all you swamp critters to have a good day and a good idea," and each character gets at least one.
Appelt weaves the rich language of legends passed down through generations. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is as mythical as the Sugar Man. She carries weighty themes lightly, and spins a story that reminds us that kin extends beyond the prescribed family tree. By the end of the story, we understand that that includes "all the swamp critter." As Audie told Chap, they are paisanos, fellow countrymen. They come from the same soil. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness
Discover: Newbery Honor author Appelt's return to the bayou setting of The Underneath, with a lighter touch and an environmental theme."--Shelf Awareness, STARRED REIVEW