The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt

Forget the big city, there is plenty happening around snake infested Sugar Man Swamp. Appelt's story takes place in South East Texas around Port Arthur and follows the journey of two families, one human and the other of the rodent variety, to keep their home. The Brayburns have been in the area since Audie first fell in love with the swamp and the creatures that it holds, a cryptid known as Sugar Man and a rare wood pecker know as the Ghost Bird. 

Audie's recent passing has left his daughter and grandson, Chap, in a sad state. They hardly have time to mourn when Sonny Boy Beauchamp, a rich city boy, and Jaeger Stitch, the reigning woman world gator wrestler, come into town with plans to erect Gator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park. This threatens to put the Brayburn's diner, known for its sugar cane fried pies, out of business and leave many other animals homeless. Two of these creatures are Bingo and J'miah who, along with their family, have called Audie's abandoned 1949 deSota home for decades. 

With the help of the local disc jockey, Coyote Jim, the Brayburns do their best to promote their cafe to raise the money needed to keep the land. However, the future looks grim as the ground breaking ceremony moves forward. Luckily, animals, people, and cryptids come together to ensure that Sonny Boy and Jaeger's drive away in their stretch Hummer empty handed. 

It took me about 1/4 of the book to begin to grasp what was going on as one character after another was dished out in minute chapters so quickly I didn't have time to swallow. Once I found the rhythm my foot tapped right along with the story. Though, the culminating event missed the beat with its predictability.