The Fortress of Kaspar Snit

Sylvia Pantaleo is an associate professor of education, specializing in
children’s literature, at the University of Victoria. She is the
co-author of Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary
Classroom.

The Blande family is not bland. Indeed, 11-year-old Eleanor’s mother
has mastered the art of flying, her father is a world-renowned expert on
fountains, and her brother thinks he is a superhero called Googoo-Man.
Another eccentricity of the Blande family is the grandiose fountain that
fills their front yard. One night Eleanor observes her mother reach into
a secret compartment on the fountain, remove an amulet, and press it to
her palm. Thus, Eleanor uncovers the secret of flight for herself.

After learning about the disappearance of Rome’s exquisite fountains,
the Blande’s fountain is stolen. Rome is willing to wage war on those
who have taken the precious pieces of art. In order to avert an
international crisis, the Blande family becomes involved in the case.
Eleanor’s brother believes that Kaspar Snit—“the most evil genius
in the world”—is responsible for this nefarious scheme of robbing
the world of beauty. The family takes flight and travels across the
Atlantic to Snit’s fortress in the Verulian Mountains, where they get
captured by Snit. Before long, however, they recover the fountains and
even have time for a holiday in Rome. Although temporarily imprisoned,
Snit escapes—and thus Fagan has set the stage for a sequel.

The plot development is slow and predictable, and very little of the
action occurs at the fortress of Kaspar Snit, the evil antagonist.
Snit’s grudge against the Blande family is flimsy (at best) and thus
minimizes reader engagement. Not recommended.