Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids: Billy Stuart Les Zintrépides

By Alain M. Bergeron and Sampar

Billy Stuart is a young raccoon who aspires to be just like his grandfather, a globe-trotting adventurer who knows no fear.

When he learns that his grandfather has found a way to travel through time and is leaving on another great voyage, he sets out to see him off (and maybe sneak along). Billy Stuart follows his grandfather's puzzling clues through a maze of caves and caverns to find him before he leaves, trailed by his Scout pack, the Zintrepids. What Billy doesn't know is that once they go down the fateful path his grandfather has taken, there will be no turning back. Brightly illustrated and enhanced with games and puzzles throughout, Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids is Billy's first adventure and is sure to amuse readers of all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Sep 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9781459818392

Alain M. Bergeron

A prolific author, Alain M. Bergeron has written over 250 children’s books. He devotes himself exclusively to writing and leading school workshops. His inexhaustible imagination has made him a fixture in children’s literature, and he has received many awards and accolades. Alain lives in Victoriaville, Quebec.

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Text copyright © 2018 Alain M. Bergeron

Illustrations copyright © 2018 Sampar

Originally published in French in 2011 by Éditions Michel Quintin under the title Billy Stuart les Zintrépids

Translation copyright © 2018 Sophie B. Watson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cataloguing in Publication information available from Library and Archives Canada

Issued in print and electronic formats.

isbn 978-1-4598-1837-8 (softcover).—isbn 978-1-4598-1838-5 (pdf).— isbn 978-1-4598-1839-2 (epub)

First published in the United States, 2018

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018933707

Summary: In this illustrated novel for middle-grade readers, Billy Stuart and his loyal Scout group get lost on a hike and inadvertently travel through time.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the National Translation Program for Book Publishing, an initiative of the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013-2018: Education, Immigration, Communities, for our translation activities.

Cover and interior illustrations by Sampar

Translated by Sophie B. Watson

Orca Book Publishers

orcabook.com

Ebook by Bright Wing Books (brightwing.ca)

21 20 19 18 • 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Characters

Dear Reader

Chapter 1: Our Darling FrouFrou

Get Lost!

Chapter 2: Enough Is Enough!.

Chapter 3: A Letter from My Grandfather

Chapter 4: When Tomorrow Is Today

Do You Know Your Colors?

Chapter 5: The Zintrepids’ Anthem

Chapter 6: Beware the Grouchy Bear

Topsy-Turvy

Chapter 7: In Belcher’s Cavern

Chapter 8: Operation Get Us Out of Here!

Who Am I?

Chapter 9: On the Right Track?.

Chapter 10: On the Other Side of the Wall

Chapter 11: Unexpected Reunions

Chapter 12: Scriiiii!

Chapter 13: Batman

Tongue Twisters

Chapter 14: Daemon-Bat!

Chapter 15: A Bridge-Quake

A Puzzle

Chapter 16: Back in the Open Air

Search and Find

Solutions

Landmarks

Cover

Body Matter

Table of Contents

dear reader,

Billy Stuart wasn’t exactly elected to this particular position. He doesn’t wear a magical ring on his finger like Frodo. He doesn’t have a secret collection of masks or stones hidden in his drawers like Zelda. He hasn’t walked through life accompanied by a daemon like Lyra. Nor does he have a distinctive lightning-shaped scar on his forehead like Harry. Basically, the future of the world does not rest on his thin and bony shoulders.

Billy Stuart is just a young, ordinary raccoon who has experienced some extraordinary adventures.

Here is the first adventure he told me about.

One twelfth of January, in the town of Cavendish.

Reviews for Billy Stuart and the Zintrepids

[librarianryan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I felt like this book was never going to end. It wants and tries to be a version of Geronimo Stilton, but fails. Billy Stuart is a Racoon with a summer job of walking the neighbors dag. He hates it, and reminds everyone it’s not his dog. His grandfather is a great adventurer and thinks he has found the secret to time travel. The Intrepids are a scouting group. They are to go on a nature hike/fishing trip. Billy believes that he still has time to meet up with gramps and see what his new adventure is all about. Instead he gets lost in a cave and takes his friends with him. Billy is a racoon, and all his friends are anthropomorphic as well, but the neighbors are human, dog is a poodle, and a bear is a bear. That in itself is a bit confusing and plays into the rest of the story, like the kids automatically believing the bear is a menace or a threat. Maybe he just wants to see cookies. Plus Billy has an attitude problem. It really gets grating. The best character is the weasel who for some reason makes me think of De Niro in Taxi Driver.The book seems like it should be written for second grade, but there are lots of fifth grade plus words used. The author breaks in with post-it notes but only once is it to define something. Then there are the puzzles. Don’t get me wrong, the puzzles are fun, but what part do they play in the story. They just hop up out of nowhere. What isn’t this a special chapter in back, or a way for the scouts to use the puzzles in the story. Overall to me this book was not successful, but I know others will disagree and that is their right. But they will have to pay for the book themselves as I will not be adding it to my library.