Book details

  • Genre:fiction
  • Sub-genre:Action & Adventure
  • Language:English
  • Series Title:The Pillow and Beach Blanket Reader Collection
  • Series Number:1
  • Pages:108
  • eBook ISBN:9781483563633

The Adventures of Black Jack the Cat

By Commander Groove

Overview

Black Jack lives with his master Dave at an artist commune in the City of Beachtown on the shore of the mighty Pacific Ocean. When the commune is bought by nasty real estate developers Mr. and Mrs. Witchell, the artists are forced to relocate. Dave, an aspiring novelist, falls on hard times. He becomes so ill that he must turn Black Jack over to the care of the dreaded Mrs. Witchell. He vows to recoup his beloved cat in better times. Black Jack befriends a timid indoor cat called Tuna. When the Witchells move to Palm Springs, a three-hour drive away, Black Jack and Tuna escape. The adorable duo venture off on a trek across the desert, then onward through the enormous City of Angels to reunite with loved ones back in Beachtown.


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Description

Their journey is an arduous one full of adventure and excitement. Along the way they partner up with two salamanders, Rex and Sally, who act as guides through the treacherous desert terrain. After narrowly escaping a pack of hungry coyotes, they reach the rough streets of Los Angeles, where they encounter a mischief of rats. Nicky the Rat, a dapper fellow who wears a top hat, tags along with the cats and salamanders to help them get back to Beachtown. While passing through the city's Echo Park section, they stumble across a junkyard where stray cats have organized a championship baseball game. Black Jack joins the Echo Park Scrappers team as their starting pitcher. Next, to get through the notorious Dog Town, the lot of them disguise themselves as poodles. Can Black Jack and his rag-tag band of adventurers reach the safety of Beachtown? Will Jack's true love, Tabitha the Tabby, still be around to welcome Jack home? Is Black Jack's Master Dave alive and well? Jack and his mates can only hope so in The Adventures of Black Jack the Cat – another rip-roaring adventure from Commander Groove, especially good for kids!


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About The Author

 

Commander Groove has a wildly imaginative mind. The swirling wackiness in his head jumps from the pages straight into readers' heads, where memories of his tales echo pleasantly forever. A lifetime of extraordinary adventures around the world gives Groove his unending overflow of madcap ideas for unpredictable, twisting plots and clever, cunning dialogue.
 
Groove earned a B.A. in finance, and then did nothing with that degree. He prefers manual labor. Philly-born and Philly-raised – with the accent to prove it – Commander Groove commands you and your flagging imagination to hop aboard for a groovilicious ride!
 
Somehow Commander Groove makes you feel like you're right there beside his heroes, living the action. The goodhearted protagonists hook you in and glue you to their escapades. His antagonists are a whole lot of fun to despise, or sympathize with, depending on how screwed up in the head you are. Commander Groove loves humanity, so expect to find his stories rich with morals good for kids and, let's face it, adults.
 
When Commander Groove pries himself away from his embarrassingly old laptop, he enjoys sailing. He likes the challenge of not falling overboard or crashing into rocks, and he narrowly escaped an early death by failing to prevent the latter. Nevertheless, Commander Groove plans to set sail from Philadelphia and brave the choppy Atlantic. His goal is to not disembark until he gets to Ireland, where he wants to become famous.

Illustrations were created by Los Angeles native Roberto Lozano and internationally published political cartoonist Chris Katko.  Editing done by U.C. Berkeley graduate Jennifer Norian and April Labine.  Graphic layout organized by April Labine and David Glenn.  

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