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Secret Agent Jack Stalwart #9
The Deadly Race to Space: Russia
Destination: Russia. On the eve of the first manned mission to Mars, Secret agent Jack Stalwart learns that the mission's chief rocket engineer has disappeared. When he finds out that engineer is his father, Jack vows the kidnapper will live to regret it. Can Jack keep his cool to save the day?
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2009
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172 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 7, 2021
Nine year old secret agent Jack Stalwart is called to action (in Russia) when an aerospace engineer involved with the first manned mission to mars (who turns out to be none other than Jack's father!) goes missing! With the aid of several super cool spy gadgets, his training with the GPF (Global Protection Force), and his own wits and intelligence, Jack must solve the crime before something awful happens to his dad!
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
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This is the ninth book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This was another fun addition to the Jack Stalwart series. My son would undoubtedly give every book is this series an enthusiastic 5 stars, so take that into consideration. As the mom, I gave the first book 4 stars (a pretty solid rating from me), and subsequent books have gotten 3 star ratings (the drop in stars is entirely due to the fact that from book 2 on, there is, in my opinion, too much violence for this age group - guns, knives, assault with a baseball bat, someone always trying to kill Jack (a 9 year old boy!) - it just seems excessive and unnecessarily violent). I am very pleased to report that there wasn't an excess of violence in this book! There was a light ray that stunned on impact, but there were no guns, knives, poisonous puffer fish meals, hungry lions, or man-eating komodo dragons! Because of that, I am more than happy to give this book 4 stars.
Overall, this book series is entertaining and engaging - each book catches my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and holds it. At around 120 pages, it usually takes us 1-2 sittings to finish one of these book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
********
This is the ninth book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This was another fun addition to the Jack Stalwart series. My son would undoubtedly give every book is this series an enthusiastic 5 stars, so take that into consideration. As the mom, I gave the first book 4 stars (a pretty solid rating from me), and subsequent books have gotten 3 star ratings (the drop in stars is entirely due to the fact that from book 2 on, there is, in my opinion, too much violence for this age group - guns, knives, assault with a baseball bat, someone always trying to kill Jack (a 9 year old boy!) - it just seems excessive and unnecessarily violent). I am very pleased to report that there wasn't an excess of violence in this book! There was a light ray that stunned on impact, but there were no guns, knives, poisonous puffer fish meals, hungry lions, or man-eating komodo dragons! Because of that, I am more than happy to give this book 4 stars.
Overall, this book series is entertaining and engaging - each book catches my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and holds it. At around 120 pages, it usually takes us 1-2 sittings to finish one of these book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
June 10, 2019
Great and Interesting book
I liked the book because it had lots of high tech just like something you would see in a marvel film. I recommend this book for people aged around 10.
I liked the book because it had lots of high tech just like something you would see in a marvel film. I recommend this book for people aged around 10.
January 26, 2020
Very good books
June 1, 2015
The 9 year old main character makes this an elementary read, but it was a fun book. I loved the list of secret weapons and gadgets that he uses to climb walls and transport from place to place - I also love that each book in the series takes place in a different country with a different mystery relevant to that country in real life. The maps and country overviews and phrases in the native language at the beginning are also awesome. I can see extensions to write their own adventure similar to this format / create own secret weapons / connections to superhero stories - there is a lot you can do with this book/series in an elementary classroom!
December 24, 2014
Well I know this is a children's book but I found it to be very cheesy and a bit lame on the whole. There are so many books with young spies/agents in them which are written so well and make the unbelievable seem real when you are reading them but not this. I finished this as quickly as possible because it was so daft although I think young boys would like it, especially reluctant readers.
December 27, 2016
Very impressive book!
Very impressive, lots of description, action and problems! The book is memorable, especially some of the weapons the criminals used. I was always interested and wanted to keep reading. My mom and dad gave me the book and I'm glad they did!
Very impressive, lots of description, action and problems! The book is memorable, especially some of the weapons the criminals used. I was always interested and wanted to keep reading. My mom and dad gave me the book and I'm glad they did!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews