Bubba and Squirt's Shield of Athena

By Sherry Ellis

A Greek Goddess and a Mythical Monster!
When Bubba and Squirt travel through the mysterious vortex on a quest to save their father, they end up in Athens, Greece where they meet an old woman known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her intriguing riddles set them on a path that leads to the Netherworld, a place where danger lurks around every corner.

With the help of their new friends and some unlikely allies, they must defeat the monster that holds their father captive. Will they succeed or be trapped forever in the labyrinth of the Netherworld?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press LLC
• Release date: May 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798988625117

Sherry Ellis

Award-winning author, Sherry Ellis, is a professional musician who plays and teaches violin, viola, and piano. When she's not writing or engaged in musical activities, she can be found taking care of household chores, hiking, or exploring the world. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two children.

Book preview

A grey and white text Description automatically generated

Sherry Ellis

DANCING LEMUR PRESS, L.L.C.

Pikeville, North Carolina

http://dancinglemurpress.com

This is genuinely one of my favourite sibling adventures. It has all the good stuff, friendship, dangerous moments, humour, and magical powers. – Nayu’s Reading Corner

"…this book is a positive addition to both its own series and to library collections for adventurous middle grade readers." – Mary R. Lanni, author

"One of my favorite things about this series is the cultural and historical mix. This is a lovely read, especially for the younger end of the middle grade audience." – Bookworm for Kids

A fast-paced adventure that didn't stop until I turned the last page. – Stephanie Robinson, author of The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow

Shield of Athena continues this roller-coaster adventure with Bubba and Squirt testing and expanding into their courage, intelligence, and ability to work together. Shield of Athena is an exciting adventure with lots to teach readers, perfect for the middle-grade classroom. – The Children's Book Review

Copyright 2024 by Sherry Ellis

Published by Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C.

P.O. Box 383, Pikeville, North Carolina, 27863-0383

http://dancinglemurpress.com

ISBN 9798988625117

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system in any form–either mechanically, electronically, photocopy, recording, or other–except for short quotations in printed reviews, without the permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Cover design by C.R.W.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ellis, Sherry, author. 

Title: Bubba and Squirt's shield of Athena / Sherry Ellis. 

Other titles: Shield of Athena 

Description: Pikeville, North Carolina : Dancing Lemur Press, L.L.C., 2024.

  | Series: Bubba and squirt ; 4 | Includes bibliographical references. |

  Audience: Grades 4-6. | Summary: Bubba and Squirt journey through a

  mysterious vortex to Athens, Greece, encounter the Oracle of Delphi, and

  navigate perilous riddles and a mythical monster in the Netherworld to

  free their captive father. 

Identifiers: LCCN 2023034793 (print) | LCCN 2023034794 (ebook) | ISBN

  9798988625100 (paperback) | ISBN 9798988625117 (ebook) 

Subjects: CYAC: Siblings--Fiction. | Greece--Fiction. | Athens

  (Greece)--Fiction. | Oracles--Fiction. | Adventure and

  adventurers--Fiction. | LCGFT: Action and adventure fiction. | Novels.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.E458 Bym 2024  (print) | LCC PZ7.1.E458  (ebook)

  | DDC [Fic]--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023034793

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023034794

Also available:

Bubba and Squirt’s Big Dig to China

Print ISBN 9781939844507

eBook ISBN 9781939844514

Bubba and Squirt’s Mayan Adventure

Print ISBN 9781939844705

eBook ISBN 9781939844712

Bubba and Squirt’s City of Bones

Print ISBN 9781939844989

eBook ISBN 9781939844996

Winners of the…

Reader’s Favorite Book Award – Silver Medal

Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – first place

Litpick Book Review Award

Book Excellence Awards Finalist

Purple Dragonfly Book Awards – second place

Table of Contents

Chapter 1—Bubba: It Begins With Sticky Fingers

Chapter 2—Squirt: Grandpa’s Surprise

Chapter 3—Bubba: The Riddle Maker

Chapter 4—Squirt: Showtime

Chapter 5—Bubba: The Ant and the Grasshopper

Chapter 6—Squirt: The Woman and a Wine Jar

Chapter 7—Bubba: Music, Masks, and Meatballs

Chapter 8—Squirt: We Visit a Mega Music Box

Chapter 9—Bubba: Bubblegum Banjos and a Big Surprise

Chapter 10—Squirt: The Oracle’s Big News

Chapter 11—Bubba: We Meet a Goddess

Chapter 12—Squirt: Gifts From Athena

Chapter 13—Bubba: Into the Netherworld

Chapter 14—Squirt: A Surprise Encounter

Chapter 15—Bubba: Snakehead Strikes Again

Chapter 16—Squirt: My Mind is Blown

Chapter 17—Bubba: The Beast is Back

Chapter 18—Squirt: We Find Out Why

Chapter 19—Bubba: I Solve the Riddle

Chapter 20—Squirt: The Story of Hoori and Hoderi

Chapter 21—Bubba: We Spill the Beans

The Mask of Agamemnon and the Acropolis

Glossary of Greek Words

Recipes

Bibliography and Maps

About the Author

1—BUBBA: IT BEGINS WITH STICKY FINGERS

The gargoyle needs to be destroyed. There’s no other way. Otherwise, it will be impossible to save Daddy.

Bubba, you need to tell everyone what’s been going on.

Right. It’s my big sister, Squirt. She has a point. Let me explain.

The whole thing started with a shovel. A magic shovel. Grandpa Joe bought it at a garage sale. The first time I used it, it made a portal that went all the way from Mariemont, Ohio, to China. Squirt and I have gone through it a few times, each time landing someplace different. Like Paris, where we met the gargoyle and scary jaguar-man. They kidnapped Daddy during his magic show and are keeping him prisoner in a big ice block. We found him, and a lot of other frozen people, in a cave after we stepped through a painting in the underground catacombs of Paris. Long story. The point is, we need to save him before it’s too late.

Yesterday, when we got back from Paris, we told our Grandpa Joe about the situation. He’s a magician, too, and he knew about Kanaima, the jaguar-man. He said he’s an evil spirit who possesses people’s souls to make them do bad things. I don’t know why he wants Daddy and the others. It might be because they’re powerful magicians who can make him stop. Or he might want them to do bad things. An army of sorcerers.

We need a plan. One that involves returning to where Daddy is, getting rid of the gargoyle, destroying Kanaima, freeing everybody from the ice blocks, and bringing us all home safe and sound. Easy-peasy.

NOT! I don’t know where to begin.

Why don’t we talk to Grandpa again? He might know what to do, Squirt says, getting up from our living room sofa.

Good idea.

We head down the street to his house. He opens the door and gives us one of his bear hugs. Are you okay?

I shake my head. "No. We’re worried about