Sonderbooks Book Review of Bartlett and the City of Flames

****Bartlett and the City of Flames*

by Odo Hirsch

Reviewed April 5, 2004.
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, New York, 2003. First published in Great Britain in 1999. 201 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (J MCN F HIR).

This book is the sequel to Bartlett and the Ice Voyage, but it’s not absolutely crucial to read the books in order. This book gives another adventure of Bartlett, the great explorer, and his faithful companion Jacques LeGrand. This time they bring along young Gozo, whom they met in the last book, a boy who wants to be an explorer.

This is another old-fashioned adventure yarn. Outrageous things happen, such as Gozo looking exactly like a Pasha’s missing son, and a whole tribe of people living in underground caverns, but it’s told with a matter-of-fact voice and we accept it all.

Once again, Bartlett faces immense challenges that require Inventiveness, Desperation, and Perseverance. I confess that I couldn’t figure out how he was going to solve this one, but once again, Bartlett comes through with flare.

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

***Bartlett and the City of Flames

by Odo Hirsch

****Bartlett and the City of Flames*