The sea of terror

Gr 2--5--Frazier has always been bestselling Gibbs's voice-of-choice, either solo or in aural cahoots with others. Consistency is especially key here, as Frazier energetically returns with Gulley, Hakimi, and Issaq to enliven the third volume of "Once Upon a Tim," Gibb's graphic hybrid series comprised of prose, pictures, and panels. To read the volumes in order predictably provides deeper engagement, but Gibbs's swashbuckling antics (with clever nods to Odyssean exploits) offer plenty of stand-alone thrills and chills (bargleboar snot, the Mystical Protective Amulet of Merryland, "loose"--as in decapitated--hydra heads) into which the sprightly cast infuses plenty of just plain fun. Gibbs, of course, doesn't skimp on his edifying "IQ boosters," using plenty of big words--defined and annotated!--such as harangue, fleece (because it has multiple meanings), ravenous, bellicosely, and that dreaded cliff-hanger, which is how he ends the book. "This is good news," he insists, "because it means there are many more adventures for you to enjoy about [Tim] and [his] friends." VERDICT All formats of the series (the fourth book hits November 7) are perfect for reluctant readers.

Knights-in-training Tim and Belinda undertake a terrifying sea voyage to fetch a golden fleece and a few other treasures. Mostly what's terrifying is that they have Sir Fass, Sir Render, and the rest of the Kingdom of Merryland's inept, aptly named, and, as it turns out, treacherous Knight Brigade as shipmates…though surviving such nautical hazards as sirens, not to mention Scylla and Charybdis, are (not unlike a monstrous bargleboar, whose allergy to paprika leaves everyone covered in snot) nothing to sneeze at. Cribbing blithely from ancient sources but working in some inventive twists of his own--the song of the sirens, for instance, is so awful that rather than luring sailors to their deaths, it results in them wrecking their ships to avoid hearing it--Gibbs steers his young adventurers from one near disaster to the next before doing readers the disservice of leaving the pair hurtling toward certain death on the last page. As in previous outings, Curtis adds comical line drawings of knights in armor grimacing or looking confused to nearly every spread, and the author pauses the action periodically to define relevant vocabulary building words like overcompensating, nauseous, and (irritatingly) cliffhanger. Most of the cast presents White in the interior art, though Belinda appears to be Black. More knightly shenanigans, tongue deeply in cheek. (Fantasy. 10-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Chapter One: What I Was Afraid OfCHAPTER ONEWhat I Was Afraid Of You could barely get through the day without running into a vicious, bloodthirsty creature. The countryside was crawling with them. Literally. And, as a member of the Knight Brigade of the Great and Glorious Kingdom of Merryland, it was my job to fend them off. This was not easy. In fact, it was extremely difficult. And potentially deadly. And scary. Just turn the page and you'll see what I mean. Excerpted from The Sea of Terror by Stuart Gibbs All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.