The Busybody Buddha

In the sequel to The Great Laundry Adventure, the three Lawrence children, Abigail, Jacob and Ernest (from oldest to youngest) are again embarked on a mysterious adventure, but this time, the adventure is initiated, it appears, by a small blue stone buddha which Ernest has discovered in a mysterious shop. The little buddha has a way of showing Ernest the unhappiness of others, and his brother and sister have expressly forbidden him to bring the buddha along on their summer holiday. With their parents, they arrive by motorboat on the wonderfully primitive island where they always spend their holidays, ready for a carefree summer. At first they are delighted to rediscover their favorite haunts and activities, but soon five-year-old Ernest is oppressed by a sense of foreboding. He is afraid to tell Abigail and Jacob that he has brought the buddha to the island, but they soon discover its presence and take measures to try to prevent the buddhas powerful and unhappy messages from spoiling their holiday. Then the children discover a battered replica of the tourist boat, the Segwun, which has plied these shores for decades, and which then leads them to a small mist shrouded island, called Serene Island. They also discover a mysterious cave with ancient drawings and a tunnel through which pours the sound of sobbing. They follow the tunnel and it leads them back to the same small island. This time they find someone who is indeed unhappy and needs their help. And so their adventure with Charlotte, a young girl from another time, begins. A junior novel with a classic feel, illustrated with black and white illustrations, which will delight children eight and up. Rutledge has mined the mysterious elements of an untamed island to produce a story which is both whimsical and enchanting.

In the sequel to The Greay Laundry Adventure, the three Lawrence children, Abigail, Jacob and Ernest are again embarked on a mysterious adventure, but this time, the adventure is initiated by a small blue stone buddha which Ernest discovered in an old shop. The little buddha has a way of showing Ernest the unhappiness of others, and his brother and sister have forbidden him to bring the statue along on their summer holiday.

Kathy Egner - Children's Literature

A family, including three children, Abigail, Jacob and Ernest, are on the small island where they always spend their holidays. Ernest, who is five years old and wise beyond his years, has brought a small stone buddha with him. Because this buddha is able to pick up and transmit powerful emotions, Ernest is usually sad when he has it with him. Therefore, Abigail and Jacob have forbidden him to bring it along on their vacation. However, the damage is done, and the buddha is there. Ernest hears crying and knows that someone is in distress. The buddha leads him and his siblings through a tunnel onto a distant island and back in time where a sobbing, young, dead girl is trapped. The children help her find a new home where she can be happy. The story is predictable and the characters are stereotyped: Abigail is the typical, responsible older child; Jacob, the adventuresome middle child; and Ernest, the thoughtful, serious young one. The writing is bland and the author too often tries to tell the readers how the children feel rather than showing them by developing powerful, believable characters with whom they can identify. 2002, Napoleon Publishing,