A Strange, Fun, Upbeat Adventure for Early Readers

This book, and this series, have a "scouting" frame that allows for all sorts of silly and fantastic adventures without the need for magical or fantasy world building. They are easy to get into, briskly paced, exceptionally good-humored, and loaded with lots of upbeat but understated messages about loyalty, responsibility, cooperation, independence, and the like. The mix is light and balanced and so the tales unwind crisply and cheerfully.

The idea is that our four heroes, (a nice mix of different kids), are "Strange Scouts", tasked with facing danger and adventure while saving the odd, unique and threatened strange creatures of the world. The first volume featured Sasquatch; this one leads us to the Loch Ness Monster. The scouting angle lets the kids be a troop, have a scoutmaster, earn badges, and so on, but it doesn't get in the way or require a lot of explanation. That leaves more room for jokes, bits of silliness, and setting up the big mystery - who's trying to frame Nessie?

Matthew Cody has written some elegant books for older readers, including "The Dead Gentleman", "Will in Scarlet", and the Pied Piper series, so he has a good handle on middle grade fantasy/adventure. This series aims at a much younger crowd. The drawings, which are friendly and engaging, are a bit cartoony and invite the young reader in. Sentences are clear and direct. The tale is narrated by Ben, one of the strange scouts. He is a good humored narrator and projects as a nice blend of frantic, deadpan, and cheerfully welcoming. There are funny asides, interesting adults, and just the right amount of haggis jokes.

As a consequence of the characters, the setup, the subject matter, and the welcoming style, this struck me as a book that could appeal to a wide range of early readers, from those just starting with chapter books up to and including more confident readers just looking for a laugh or two.

The Loch Ness Lock-In is an exciting, laugh-out-loud funny chapter book about a secret group of scouts protecting the monsters of the world. These cryptozoologists-in-training are preaching the gospel of weird, and I love them for it. Part of the Strange Scouts oath vows "To preserve oddity and strangeness in all its glory, especially my own, Because uniqueness is never weakness." For that sentence alone, I think every kid should read this book.

This is a clever, funny story that will keep kids riveted and have them clamoring for the next book in the series. It's well-plotted and full of hilarious asides from narrator Ben Beederman, one of the young Scouts investigating what appear to be Nessie attacks at the famed Loch Ness. The Scooby-Doo comparisons are inevitable — the villain of the piece is a mini golf magnate who seems suspiciously eager to blame the conspicuous property damage on Nessie, and I was holding my breath waiting for him to shake his fist and yell about meddling kids. (Spoiler alert: he didn't.) But this is no rehash. Matthew Cody's story comes across as a winking homage as it distinguishes itself with its humor, tight plotting, and heart.

Since I read an e-galley, I didn't see a lot of the final art, but based on what I did see, Steve Lambe's illustrations are terrific and complement the story's quirky humor nicely. That comes as no surprise, since Lambe was a character designer for several cartoons known for their humorous character work, including The Fairly OddParents and my personal favorite Teen Titans Go! There's one image in particular that I really hope makes it to print, because it's hilarious and ties in beautifully with a touching moment at the end of the story.

This is the second book in the Strange Scouts series, but Cody does a good job of catching the reader up in case you (like me) haven't read the first one. Still, I definitely want to go back to check out the first book, How to Merit in Monsters, and future entries in the series will be automatic adds to my TBR. Maybe I can learn how I can join the Strange Scouts, because the Scout oath is the perfect summation of my goal in life: to "preserve oddity and strangeness in all its glory, especially my own."

With its strong storytelling and clever humor, The Loch Ness Lock-In is a fun read that shows kids that monsters aren't always monstrous and that being weird is something to be celebrated, no matter what the rest of the world may think.

I love anything to do with the Loch Ness monster, and I saw this and wanted to read it immediately! I thought it was a cute fun read that any kid who likes the weird or mythical type stories would love to read this. I think I am going to add it to my child’s book list to read to him when he gets a bit older!