School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-5-Billy Stuart, a raccoon, is the grandson of globe-trotting adventurer extraordinaire Virgil Stuart, who has found a secret passageway to time travel. In this first book in the series, packed with riddles, saucy sidebars, mini-comics, and illustrations, Billy ventures to Belcher's Cavern with his fellow scouts, the Zintrepids-including a fox, skunk, weasel, and chameleon-to see his relative off on the biggest adventure of his life. Billy and his friends brave the great outdoors-black bears, thunderstorms, a flood, dead ends, stalactites, and a daemon-bat-to bid farewell to Virgil. Following his clues and cave markings, the friends just miss Grandpa, but inadvertently embark on an exploit of their own. "Troop, we are.elsewhere. Where and when? I don't know. But under our feet, there is a whole new world to discover." Readers will impatiently await future titles to see where the Zintrepids land next. VERDICT Jon Scieszka's "Time Warp Trio" meets "Geronimo Stilton" in this full-color hybrid, which should appeal to reluctant readers and avid readers alike.-Barbara Auerbach, Formerly at New York City Public Schools © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.