Tom Stetson, Book 3 - And the Blue Devil

The third, and final, book in this vintage children's series was actually the real reason why I bought the series to begin with.  Unfortunately, of the three books, this was actually the hardest for me to get through.

Tom Stetson and the Blue Devil picks up the summer after Tom Stetson on the Trail of the Lost Tribe, as Tom returns to the Amazon jungles to visit with his uncle, Leo Jason.  While the prior two books were quick to swing into the action, incorporating the descriptions of the lavish jungles and its inhabitants, both plant and animal, this book spends the first 100 pages simply describing the men's journey down the Amazon to a place where they can search for an Indian known as the "Blue Devil."  The author, John Henry Cutler, provides such detailed descriptions of the plant life and wild animals that dwell in the forested land that it's obvious he has first-hand knowledge of the area.  However, it becomes a bit tedious when the descriptions begin to repeat, and there is no movement whatsoever in the story.

Once we get past that 100-page mark, though, the story picks up pace rather quickly.  Poor Manolo, Uncle Leo's adopted ward, once again gets kidnapped, and it's up to Tom and his uncle to rescue him.  In the process, though, Uncle Leo gets kidnapped, and Tom finds himself alone, having to not only save Manolo, but also find his own uncle!  In the process, Tom meets and must face off against the Blue Devil himself (who, interestingly enough, speaks perfect English and seems to live just as easily as an Englishman as he does an Indian).

Cutler builds upon Tom's previous experiences in the last two books to help him evade capture himself and to climb unbelievably tall trees and swing across vines.  I personally found it interesting that no matter what Tom was doing - whether it be climbing a tree, crossing between trees on a thick vine, swinging vines from tree to tree, or even swimming in piranha-infested waters, he always manages to have his backpack with him and it manages to stay dry at all times.  Only in series books, I suppose...

Ursula Koering once again provides illustrations throughout the story, and the beautifully-painted wrap-around cover (the artist of which is not defined) depicts the boys daring escape from the Motilon tribe of Indians.  I give the author credit - despite the lengthy and somewhat boring first half, the second half of the story more than makes up for it, with a lot of close-calls, dangerous escapades, and a rather sneaky plan to help them evade the clutches of the Blue Devil's tribe.

While the conclusion of the story hints at more adventures to come, alas, this is the last book in the series.  Whether Cutler never intended to write any more, or the books just didn't sell well enough for the publisher to ask for any more is a mystery, I suppose, that will remain unsolved.

RATING:  5 iron vests out of 10 for bringing the jungles of Brazil and the Amazon to life in such a vivid way and making an adventure story for boys interesting enough for me to read.

Tom Stetson, Book 2 - On the Trial of the Lost Tribe

I stepped back into my Tom Stetson series to read the second book, On the Trail of the Lost Tribe (although, interestingly enough, the spine lists it only as The Lost Tribe).  As with the first book, I was surprised that I actually enjoyed reading the story, since I'm not really a huge fan of the children's series with male protagonists (and, come to think of it, that applies to comics as well, since more than 80% of the comic series I read have female leads).

This book picks up pretty much shortly after the end of the last one.  Tom's uncle's native ward, Manolo, was kidnapped by his tribesman in order to force a marriage between Manolo and the chief's daughter.  Tom and his uncle must once again brave the jungles of Brazil to locate Manolo, since the Tapintin tribe had moved their camp due to the giant ants that Tom and his uncle released on the old camp.  While searching for the Tapintin camp, however, the adventurers are captured by the rival tribe of Pomora Indians.  Tom's uncle sees an opportunity to try and "civilize" this tribe, but does not get very far before the war between the tribes begins to escalate, and Tom and his uncle are caught right smack in the middle.  As with Tom Stetson and the Giant Jungle Ants, there is plenty of action and narrow escapes, but the two do manage to find Manolo and rescue him.

The author, John Henry Cutler, again shows his knowledge of the Brazilian fauna and wildlife, with the first chapter literally filled with vivid descriptions of trees, flowers, and plant-life, as well as various animals and fish native to the jungles.  He bestows this same knowledge on Leo Jason (Tom's uncle), who points out a number of life-saving things that can be found in the forest - such as the bamboo stalks that collect rain water or the cow trees that produce a drinkable milky sap.  He also explains the various ways the various tribes have learned to communicate with one another without the use of modern technology, using vines and other natural items within the jungles.  There is a lot of rich, vivid descriptions throughout the story, which easily draw the reader in and put you right there with Tom and his uncle.

I would certainly be amiss if I did not mention Ursula Koering's art throughout the book.  There are sixteen full-page illustrations throughout the 22 chapters. Koering helps bring the jungle to life, whether it be the two-page endpapers spread, or the individual illustrations depicting the tribe fishing or Tom and his uncle crossing the jungle via vines from one tree to the next.  I'll readily admit, as a kid, I always enjoyed the illustrations in the children's mystery series I read, so when they did away with them, I was very disappointed.  It's a treat to go back now and read these older series and see the various illustrators and how they helped bring the stories to life for the readers.

As with the first book (and the next, as well), the dust jacket features a wrap around painted scene, this time with Tom slicing his way through the thick jungle vegetation, a fire burning fiercely behind him.  The book ends with Tom, his uncle, and Manolo safely aboard Mr. Jason's boat, heading for the famed city of Manoas.

RATING:  8 vine-swinging spider monkeys out of 10 for keeping the action going strong from beginning to end - never a dull moment in this book!

Tom Stetson, Book 1 - and the Giant Jungle Ants

This is the first in a three-book series written by John Henry Cutler.  I picked up this book, along with books 2 and 3 in the series, all in dust jacket, while I was in Atlanta last month, and to be honest, the only reason I picked them up was because it was the complete series, the dust jackets (while not perfect) were beautiful and strong in color, and the final title in the series ("Blue Devil") made me laugh, as it is also the name of a DC Comics character from the '80s that I really liked.

So, I finally got around to reading the first book - and while I'm not normally much of a fan of boys' series, as they are usually more about adventure than mystery, I have to admit, I found this book to be rather unique.  First, while I am not overly familiar with Whitman books from this era (Copyright 1948), I was surprised to see that the dust jacket cover art literally covered the front, spine, and back!  It is a beautiful rendition of a scene from the book when Tom is attempting to rescue his uncle, who was captured by the natives in the Brazilian jungle.  It also details a number of jungle animals and plant-life (yet, noticeably, fails to render any image of the named "Giant Jungle Ants" from the title of the book).

There are a number of internal illustrations by artist Ursula Koering.  Surprisingly, a number of these illustrations show the barely dressed natives (the men wearing nothing more than a loincloth), which is certainly something you don't normally see in children's series books.

Thanks to information provided by James Keeline, I discovered that John Henry Cutler, the author (who is not credited on the cover, but only on the title page inside) is not a pseudonym, but an actual person.  The Tom Stetson series could very well be based upon his own travels through the Brazilian jungles, which would explain the amazing detail with which the author describes the wildlife, the fauna, and the natives of the jungle. Like the early Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books from the '30s and '40s, this first Tom Stetson book provides ample description of the settings and characters, putting clear and easy pictures into the reader's mind as he or she reads the story.

Now, the story itself was certainly not a mystery (the closest thing that comes to a "mystery" is when Tom stumbles upon a strange tall, round bamboo building with no doors or windows), it reads easily and there is plenty of suspense as Tom and his uncle ultimately have to trick the natives in order to rescue his uncle's adopted son, Manolo.  Tom and his uncle face the dangers of the jungle's wildlife, the poisonous plant life, and the very dangerous natives, the Tapintins.

The book is definitely a product of its time, with its innocent language and its numerous reference to Uncle Leo's work as a missionary and his desire to change the ways of the Tapintins from "savages" to more acceptable "Christians."  There is also some stereotyping, of Manolo, as well as the natives that they meet.  Something that is worthy of note is the author's use of real history within the story - when Tom asks about English explorers who have disappeared in the Brazilian jungles, his Uncle Leo tells him of Colonel Fawcett, and from pages 31 - 33, he tells the true-life tell of the Colonel, who disappeared in the jungles back in 1925 while searching for an alleged lost city.

This is a book I would definitely suggest to fans of children's series books, whether you like mystery or adventure, or both.  While I do buy some series books with uncertainty as to whether I will actually like them or not, this is one I am definitely glad I picked up!

RATING: 8 giant jungle tocandeiras (ants) out of 10 for keeping my interest and actually letting me enjoy a boys' series book.