Richard the Deep Breather

I read these a few years ago, see my review here. Since I'm down and out of work for the week with either a "flu-like illness" or a global pandemic, I've been doing a lot of reading.

And I just resist a book where a truck is named "Richard the Deep Breather".

Wonderful tales, once again! (Some good background here.) The stories are a mix of pranks ("The Flying Sorcerer"), straight-up adventure ("The Great Gas Bag Race"), mystery ("The Secret of the Old Cannon") and adventure mixed with good deeds ("Night Rescue"). It's amazing to see these guys at work, building gadgets out of junk, thinking to solve a problem, acting to help each other or neighbors, or just having fun.

Another highlight is the fact that these reprints include the artwork (covers and interior sketches) of Charles Geer. They really do capture the characters and the situations they are involved with for me!

Bertrand R. Brinley: The Mad Scientists' Club (Purple House Press; 2001; ISBN 1-930900-10-4; cover and interior illustrations by Charles Geer).

Made up of: Introduction (Sheridan Brinley); The Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake; The Big Egg; The Secret of the Old Cannon; The Unidentified Flying Man of Mammoth Falls; The Great Gas Bag Race; The Voice in the Chimney; Night Rescue.

Counts as eight entries in the 2009 Year in Shorts.

Bertrand R. Brinley: The New Adventures of The Mad Scientists' Club (Purple House Press; 2002; ISBN 1-930900-11-2; cover and interior illustrations by Charles Geer).

Made up of: Introduction (Sheridan Brinley); The Telltale Transmitter; The Cool Cavern; Big Chief Rainmaker; The Flying Sorcerer; The Great Confrontation.

Counts as six entries in the 2009 Year in Shorts.

Bertrand R. Brinley: The Big Kerplop (Purple House Press; 2003; ISBN 1-930900-22-8; cover and interior illustrations by Charles Geer).

I never had read this one as a kid, and there turns out to be a good reason: the publisher was in financial trouble and only about 1,000 copies were actually distributed. The first full-length Mad Scientists' Club novel, the book tells the "origin tale" of the club, how they got together when the U.S. Air Force accidentally dropped an atomic bomb in the local lake. Not quite as good as the short stories (I think due to the form, Brinley put more into each story, expanding the gang out to novel form did not really add anything).