The Captain’s Clue, book two in Brock Eastman and Shaun Stevenson’s Parable Port series, released this summer. This new Tyndale House series for children ages 8 to 12 years is in high demand. According to an Eastman Instagram post, it’s already in its second print run! I’m not surprised since these stories hit all the right marks: tons of action, short chapters that end in cliff-hangers, engaging characters, crisp writing, and bonus features.

The story takes place in Parable Port, a small town filled with chaos and mystery. The adventure is sort of like a mashup of the Magic Treehouse and Imagination Station books, where the characters are transported to another dimension. This fantastical dynamic brings action galore. Electric eels and sharks bent on attacking our heroes. A dam breaking and threatening to sweep the school bus away. Buildings with secrets. Heart-pounding chase scenes. Evil villains. And adults who later hold no memory of the events that transpire, leaving only our middle grade readers (and a few selected older characters) in the know.

I love the ingenious pacing of the short chapters with cliff-hangers. Unanswered questions, unresolved danger, and unprovoked surprises make the book hard to put down. The authors have also developed a diverse cast of characters, each with their own distinct personalities, interests, and faith struggles. Their relatability and easy banter make the lessons they learn seem more authentic. Because, make no mistake, there is a clear takeaway value in this book.  

One huge perk with this series are the end pages, which include a short devotion, discussions questions, and a QR code that brings the reader to J.R.’s podcast, where fans can unpack the story, listen to interviews, and otherwise engage with the text. I pointed these features out when I reviewed the first book but let me reiterate it here. The writers really thought through how to make this series attractive to kids, parents, homeschoolers, and youth pastors.

You can read the first chapter of The Captain’s Clue on Eastman’s website.

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Review by Lori Z. Scott

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