The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid

August 1, 2004
Gr 2-4-Geronimo Stilton earns his bread and cheese as editor of The Rodent's Gazette, but his true joy is writing adventure yarns. As a globe-trotting newsmouse, he finds plenty of material for his tales-although his exploits never quite work out the way he anticipates. In Curse, Geronimo heads to Egypt to interview eccentric archaeologist Professor Spitfur. The professor claims that the pyramid of Cheops contains the ancient Egyptians' secret method for creating unlimited energy, but legend says the pharaoh's curse awaits anyone who enters the tomb. In the second title, a pirate map sends Geronimo and his intrepid companions from the Gazette on a voyage to find the Emerald Eye. Shipwrecked on the treasure island, the comrades follow the dangerous trail through traps and quicksand to locate the booty. Geronimo's adventures resemble old Saturday morning cartoons with broad humor, stock characters, frenetic action, and comic-book-style illustrations. Even the text is incorporated into the comic motif. Words and phrases are highlighted with a wild miscellany of type fonts, graphics, and colors-often several on a single page. They curve across the pages, slant up or down or twist into odd shapes. While this device is amusing at first, it quickly becomes overwhelming. Transitional readers may be attracted by the flashy design, but for a better-written and funnier adventures series, steer them to Jon Scieszka's "Time Warp Trio" (Viking) instead.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

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