With its admirable protagonist, this is delightful easy reading with equal parts humor and heart.
Following their introduction in Poppy & Sam and the Leaf Thief (2018), miniature girl Poppy and her diminutive panda friend, Sam, are back, with another mystery to solve.
It’s a lovely day for a stroll among the flowers, and Poppy and Sam decide to pay a visit to Snuggles the mole. Snuggles’ home is full of freshly baked pies, which attract Sam’s focus, but Snuggles’ glasses have gone missing, so the nearsighted animal can’t read. Sam gets right to work investigating the pies for the glasses while Poppy asks Snuggles what else the mole has done today so they can retrace steps and hopefully find the missing specs. Their efforts take the trio to the riverside, a spider web, a mushroom, and up a tree. In each place, they find lost items belonging to other creatures, and they begin quite a collection. After much walking and interviewing, they finally find what they are seeking and manage to return all the items they found—a tiring but satisfying adventure that ends in bed. Cathon’s sweet illustrations feature spring colors and nature scenes; various small, smiling creatures that fly or crawl and have bit parts are a fun addition to the main story. Comics panels are interspersed with full-page illustrations. Poppy, who presents as a girl of color, is a thoughtful, creative, caring leader.
With its admirable protagonist, this is delightful easy reading with equal parts humor and heart. (Graphic mystery. 4-9)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77147-379-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not terribly remarkable, but the series has lots of growing room.
Second-grade twins prepare to leave the country, but not without first solving a time-sensitive mystery.
Ella and Ethan Briar are devastated by their parents’ announcement that the family is leaving their beloved hometown. Mrs. Briar has accepted a new job as a travel writer, a job that will send the family to new places all over the globe on a weekly basis. In an attempt to soothe the twins’ unhappiness about the move (“What about school? And soccer?” they ask), their grandfather—a retired, globe-trotting archaeologist himself—gives each a special gift for their travels. Mystery-writing Ella gets a journal; Ethan gets a special gold coin. On their last morning in town, Ethan realizes that his gold coin is missing—and they only have a few hours before they have to leave for the airport. While their grandfather does their chores, the twins methodically determine when Ethan last had the coin—the previous day—and make a list of places he visited to retrace his steps. This allows the twins to say goodbye to friendly faces throughout the town. This series-launching installment’s light on mystery, but it’s welcoming and accessible through expressive, frequent illustrations. The Mystery of the Mosaic, publishing simultaneously, takes the kids to Venice for their first overseas adventure.
Not terribly remarkable, but the series has lots of growing room. (Mystery. 5-7)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9719-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Nicely paced, with just the right number of red herrings to keep readers thinking; they will hope the number 1 on the spine...
Jerry and Maya, classmates and friends, spend their spare time solving mysteries in their hometown of Pleasant Valley in this Swedish import.
Things are not so pleasant for Mohammed Carat, the richest man in Pleasant Valley. His world-famous jewelry store is losing money; apparently, one of his employees is stealing valuable diamonds and gems. The police are no help, so Mr. Carat turns to the youngsters for help. Each employee is a suspect: Vivian is in money trouble, former owner Danny wants his store back, and Luke’s flashy spending is suspicious. Jerry and Maya are hired to help out around the shop—washing windows, taking out the trash and so forth—but really they are there to watch the employees, both from inside the shop and from the church tower next door. Young mystery aficionados will enjoy solving the puzzle along with Maya and Jerry and will admire their observational powers. Full-color cartoon illustrations add much to the story, helping readers to see what the young gumshoes do. A map of Pleasant Valley and an illustrated cast of characters are provided in the early pages, allowing new readers an excellent reference tool to keep the many characters straight.
Nicely paced, with just the right number of red herrings to keep readers thinking; they will hope the number 1 on the spine indicates that this is the first of many Maya and Jerry mysteries. (Mystery. 7-9)Pub Date: July 31, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48067-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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