Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne

Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne (audiobook)-111 pages in print

It has been a while (since last Halloween) that Jack and Annie have been called on a Merlin Mission and it is the first day of the Summer Solstice. Later the same day, they find out that Merlin has a new mission for them: to brave many obstacles and find/recover a sword so that King Arthur survives to become King of Camelot. Once again, they have to follow a rhyme/riddle to complete their mission. The first obstacle, the cave of the Spider Queen, would be really creepy, as I do not like spiders, especially giant ones (also, it reminds me of the giant spider(s) from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and The Hobbit). The Spider Queen actually helps Jack and Annie, though. Teddy shows up to help them and introduces them to a new friend, a girl named Kathleen. As usual, Jack and Annie are able to complete their mission, in spite of all the obstacles. It is cool that the author reads for the audiobook. A few other authors have done the same (Neil Gaiman is one) to varying degrees of success.