Even readers who aren’t sports fans will get a kick out of it.
Pawston Elementary’s dog detectives return for the case of a sabotaged soccer match.
With the Pawston Dynamos facing off against the Catskills Cougars in the soccer championship, Ziggy and Rora argue who will be named MVP. Ziggy backs Pawston’s own David Geckom while Rora predicts it will be Cougar Lion L. Messy. Rider, not a soccer fan, watches their fanaticism with bemusement. Readers who don’t follow international soccer will relate to his obliviousness, and they don’t need the references to enjoy the lizard and feline character designs. Before the game, mysterious acts of sabotage threaten it—starting when a giant soccer-ball monster abducts Pawston’s beloved mascot, Dynamo Dog! The pup detectives search for clues and suspects while the saboteur tries to stay a step ahead. There’s also a supernatural red herring played for laughs. In the climax, the soccer-ball monster returns, and the pups fight it, accidentally disrupting the unlikely true culprit, who delivers a deliciously villainous monologue (complete with flashbacks) to explain motives and methods. Although the heroes end up stumbling onto their answer (leaning heavily on deus ex machina inventions), the fast pace, expressively funny illustrations, and action sequences—both soccer and fighting—will keep readers moving from joke to joke.
Even readers who aren’t sports fans will get a kick out of it. (Graphic mystery. 5-9)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7870-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts.
Beachcombers and shell seekers, gather ’round and meet Shelby and Watts, Planetary Investigators.
When Fred the hermit crab can’t find a new, larger shell to move into, he seeks out the “brilliant brains” of Shelby and Watts. Shelby, a fox, is the detective in the duo, and Watts, a badger, loves facts, adding simple fun ones—about hermit crabs, tides, tide-pool dwellers, how shells are used, etc.—throughout the story. Watts also loves to catalog clues in his notebook. In fact, the first mystery that Shelby solves is that of Watts’ lost notebook. Young readers can watch Shelby investigate, solve, and explain her deductive process, all while learning to carefully examine all the details in each graphic panel. Once the missing shells are found, it’s “time for the hermit crab shuffle,” in which the members of a colony of hermit crabs all line up and trade up to larger homes. Final pages include “Earth-Saving Tips from Shelby & Watts,” such as taking pictures of shells instead of collecting them, eating seafood from sustainable sources, and cleaning up the beach. The seven chapters are of varying length, but with several one-panel pages and many pages with low word count, the book is shorter than it appears, which should be a confidence boost for young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Models attention to detail and deductive reasoning in a fun beach setting, complete with interesting facts. (Graphic early reader/mystery. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-20531-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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
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