Wow! This book takes me back in time, from a 90’s PBS cartoon to now, a Netflix series and graphic novel! In The Fishy Treasure Caper, Ecuador is the country in the spotlight. Carmen and her crew (Ivy, Zack and Player) are attempting to locate a possible treasure trove of gold coins from a sunken ship before the evil folks at VILE locate them and use the proceeds for their dastardly deeds. Carmen finds the sunken ship and is holding a gold doubloon when VILE’s El Topo arrives and an underwater battle for the gold ensues. Unfortunately, the coin is swallowed by a tuna during the melee and caught by a fishing boat.

This leads Carmen, her crew as well as VILE’s El Topo and Le Chevre to the fish market to retrieve the doubloon. Along the way, the team meets Dr. Pilar Marquez, an archaeologist, who gives them some background on the doubloon and reveals that it is not worth much monetarily. But, it’s cultural value is immense. Carmen dons her signature red coat and hat and she, along with her crew, battle the bad guys for the doubloon. She then does the right thing and gives it to Dr. Marquez and heads off to her next adventure…in Amersterdam!

Information about Ecuador is sprinkled throughout the story and a final two-page spread gives a great deal of relevant facts. Readers learn some background details about Carmen and VILE and her cool James Bond-style spy tools interspersed with the story line.

The illustrations are crisp and the story flows well through the panels. Dialogue is easy to follow an parts of the story are detailed in boxes attached to various panels.

A new generation of kids can enjoy the (educational) adventures of Carmen in this format and its associated Netflix series. I, for one, can’t wait to see where Carmen goes next! Highly recommended.