Daredevil Morgan

Staunton’s characters reflect a real-world, conversation-type writing style. The flow of dialogue is a natural one, and Staunton includes a change in the size of the font as well as bolded interjections, further emphasizing the writing style. As an installment in Staunton’s “Be Brave, Morgan!” series, Daredevil Morgan follows Morgan, Aldeen, and Charlie as they prepare for the fall fair and midway. After Morgan’s perfect pumpkin meets an untimely end, he fears that his chances of winning a ribbon at the fair are ruined. The story follows the push and pull relationship that Aldeen and Morgan share and reflects how real-life Grade 3 children relate to one another.

Slavin’s accompanying sketch illustrations bring the story to life and are well-placed to highlight key parts of the story, bringing to life the characters’ experiences, such as when Aldeen and Morgan disembarked from the very scary Asteroid Belt midway ride near the end of the story.

Staunton’s stories and chapter lengths are very accessible to young readers, especially those transitioning from picture books to chapter books. His books would make a great addition to any late primary classroom library.