(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Robert Van Nutt. In journal entries dated 1845, ten-year-old Lucky Hart recounts the events leading up to Cobtown's Fourth of July fireworks, including the defeat of a rival baseball team and the discovery of a stone marker that saves the town from being renamed Carbuncle. The story is somewhat amusing, but its diary frame feels too contrived. Full-color illustrations accompany the text.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Robert Van Nutt. Lucky Hart's long, drawn-out journal entries recount the goings-on in Cobtown in 1845. Two newcomers, Captain Ragg and Short Tooth, are charging the townspeople a quarter apiece for a peek at a fierce monster--that just happens to escape before show time. The con men get their comeuppance when Lucky's friend scares them with a hand-shadow image of a toothy beast. Full-page paintings accompany the mildly amusing tale.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger