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The Legend of Objee by Joanna L.C. Meyers

The Legend of Objee

Mascot of the United States Coast Guard Academy

by Joanna L.C. Meyers illustrated by Robert Van Keirsbilck

ISBN: 978-0988999701
Publisher: Dancing Quahog Publishing

In this fun historical picture book, three children enjoy a silly story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s pet bear.

Grace, Charlie and Henry ask their grandfather to read them their beloved book, The Legend of Objee. As he reads the illustrated tale, the children occasionally stop to imitate the silly behavior of the main character: a pet bear. Objee, short for objectionable presence, is rescued by Cadet Evans and brought to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to serve as a mascot. Hijinks begin as soon as Objee is sworn in as a cadet herself; the bugles of the call to colors send her scrambling up a tree, where the academy’s superintendent hears her whining. Objee spends her days exercising with the cadets and chewing their books (here, little Charlie gnaws a book for laughs until Grandfather stops him), but the pristine cadets have trouble having a “stinky” bear in their company. One morning, Cadet Evans is found sleeping next to Objee with the buttons from his cadet jacket missing. (Grandfather explains that Objee ate the buttons, thinking they were berries.) The bear also serves as a mascot at football games; an attempt by the rival team to kidnap her goes awry when Objee begins to eat her kidnappers’ van from the inside out. Other events in Objee’s life seem a bit cruel; for example, cadets bribe her to enter the shower before the water is turned on, which makes her angry. Grandfather, however, explains that Objee embodies the “strength, character and devotion” of the Coast Guard. Simple, realistic illustrations accompany the text, showing Objee in her all of her mischief, but some show inconsistencies. For example, the story reads that Objee would consider anyone “not dressed in Coast Guard blue” as an intruder, but a Marine she startles on the next page is wearing blue. A final page features photographs of the real-life Objee, giving background to the “legend.” However, some vocabulary—words such as “suspiciously” and terms such as “brig”—may be slightly advanced for very young readers.

A wholesome, often charming example of children’s historical fiction.