Floors Adventure Continues With 3 Below

A couple of weeks ago several people mentioned reading the first book in the Floors adventure by Patrick Carman.  I was pretty excited to see so many of you finding this one, because it was one of my favorites last year.  When Karen and I visited Cover to Cover the new Floors adventure, 3 Below, was in the pile of ARCs and I picked it up.  I finished it before leaving for my annual Dads' Camp Golf Trip in Michigan and I can definitely say, I like it as much as the first.

Very much in the tradition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Patrick Carman takes the Whippet Hotel, owned by Merganzer D. Whippet, an eccentric inventor and places it in the hands of a child, Leo.  Book 2 starts at the wedding of Leo's father and his friend Remi's brother.  The festivities are interrupted when Mr. Whippet appears in a balloon and sends the parents off on an all expense paid honeymoon freeing the boys up to discover even more magic in the Whippet Hotel.

The first thing they discover is that the hotel is behind in it's taxes and Mr. Whippet sends them on a quest to obtain some mysterious items, four floogers, a zip rope and the iron box.  The boys have no idea what this means, but because of their love for the hotel, they begin searching.  In the process they must avoid contact with the evil Ms. Sparks who has designs on owning the Whippet herself and her cohort Mr. Carp a wimpy tax attorney who is put in charge of watching the boys.

The boys discover new floors below ground in the Whippet, one that resembles a jungle and another that is filled with gears of all sizes, some of the gears resemble saw blades, and the adventure is on.

3 Below is more mysterious than the first, and kept me involved to the end.  The story is filled with enough twists and interesting characters to keep the reader guessing and turning the pages.  I'll be recommending this one to my 3rd graders and up, but only if they've read the first one.  It will also make an excellent selection for the 4th graders when they come looking for mysteries in October.