Book excerpt: Returning readers of the Lance L. Palmgren experience, via his Walnut Warriors 7-Book Series, will come back to the Great Walnut Tree for Book Three of the Trilogy with good (if not grand) expectations: They will not be disappointed. The Walnut Warriors (Armada Of The Crystal Sea) is awash with warm humor, fun, exciting events at home; sailing adventures upon rocking seas in rollicking ships; and, foreign land marvels. It is another legendary Walnut Warriors' fascinating volume filled with sensational phenomena. At the behest of King Nut, IV, the indomitable Walnut Warriors build boats and prepare to, firstly, search for their lost Warriors that were carried away by giant birds; and then, as originally planned, explore new lands and trade routes across the Crystal Sea. A giant whirlpool is fought and when the Warriors approach and finally dock next to an unchartered island they, with much anxiety, encounter Peanut Pirates! Invited to go ashore, they meet the CashShoes (highly trained technical nuts); Brazil Nuts that dance the Limbo; and, other wondrous new life forms. Lost Warriors are excitingly found and many new friendships and trade routes are established. New friends and shared technologies will accompany the Warriors' return to the Great Walnut Tree. The Walnut Warriors, commanded by Grappler, man The Great Crystal Sea Armada and freewheel into happy parodies of history, get caught in whirlpools of comically serious dilemmas, and solve problems a l MacGyver-style. Their gap-toothed, nutty miens permeate this book with laugh-out-loud fun. One enters the Lance L. Palmgren experience via any of the substantial body of books in the series and travels waves of excellent chase-the-blues-away stories for boys and girls of all ages. The Walnut Warriors (Armada of the Crystal Sea) is as great an introduction to the series as any; although, the Author recommends reading the Trilogy in sequence for more fun before proceeding on to the adventurous Books 4, 5, 6 & 7.