Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton

"Thrilling -- a spirited, poignant coming-of-age vignette and an intriguing window into a little-known chapter in vaudeville history." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In 1908, a visiting troupe of vaudeville performers is about the most exciting thing to come to Muskegon, Michigan, since baseball. They're summering in nearby Bluffton, so Henry has a few months to ogle the elephant and the zebra, the tightrope walkers, and -- best of all -- a slapstick actor his own age named Buster Keaton. Henry longs to learn to take a fall like Buster, "the human mop," but Buster just wants to play ball with Henry and his friends. With his signature nostalgic touch, Scott O'Dell Award-winning graphic novelist Matt Phelan illuminates a bygone era with lustrous color, dynamic lines, and flawless dramatic pacing.

Matt Phelan is the author-illustrator of the award-winning graphic novels The Storm in the Barn and Around the World. He is also the illustrator of Always and I’ll Be There by Ann Stott and The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, winner of the Newbery Medal. He lives in Philadelphia.