Jibby Jones

Set along the Mississippi in the small town of Riverbank, this boys’ adventure follows a gang of local youngsters who take up with Jibby Jones, an odd, painfully literal newcomer whose father writes books for a living. What starts as ordinary summer mischief, fishing contests and river rambling, grows into a treasure hunt when rumors of a buried pirate hoard begin to circulate. Ellis Parker Butler, a humorist by trade, keeps the tone light and the misadventures steady, mixing Tom Sawyer style river lore with a gentle comedy of boyhood friendship. Jibby’s plodding logic and unshakable seriousness make him the funniest thing in the book. Written for young readers, it is free to read as a PDF and EPUB.