Young investigators will appreciate this accessible mystery, and they’ll look forward to the next title, The Missing...
A ghostly (but not scary) new chapter-book mystery series kicks off.
Due to his father’s extensive travel, 10-year-old Max is sent to live with his beloved grandpa Harry. Soon he discovers his uncle Larry is living there, too—only he died quite a while ago and is now a ghost! When he was alive, Uncle Larry aspired to be a famous detective but never solved one case. Just as Max is taking this all in, the phone rings: An old friend of Larry’s is on the line, looking for help in solving a case of a missing girl who disappeared in the middle of her birthday party. Max and Larry take on the case with comic results. Larry is as bumbling now as he was in life, but Max can rely on what he has learned from the mystery books he loves. Together they search for clues and create a list of suspects. Is it the sullen older sister or the grumpy clown that makes balloon animals or the sassy neighbor? Falcone keeps readers guessing and pages turning with humorous dialogue and a quickly paced plot. The chapters, already short, are subdivided into scenes for ease of reading. For those wanting to test their observation skills, a “Spot the Difference” pair of illustrations is at the back of the book.
Young investigators will appreciate this accessible mystery, and they’ll look forward to the next title, The Missing Zucchini (2014). (Mystery. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-77138-153-6
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit.
Eleven-year-old Maria Russo helps her charlatan mother hoodwink customers, but Maria has a spirited secret.
Maria’s mother, the psychic Madame Destine, cons widows out of their valuables with the assistance of their apartment building’s super, Mr. Fox. Madame Destine home-schools Maria, and because Destine is afraid of unwanted attention, she forbids Maria from talking to others. Maria is allowed to go to the library, where new librarian Ms. Madigan takes an interest in Maria that may cause her trouble. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Maria’s new upstairs neighbor, would like to be friends. All this interaction makes it hard for Maria to keep her secret: that she is visited by Edward, a spirit who tells her the actual secrets of Madame Destine’s clients via spirit writing. When Edward urges Maria to help Mrs. Fisher, Madame Destine’s most recent mark, Maria must overcome her shyness and her fear of her mother—helping Mrs. Fisher may be the key to the mysterious past Maria uncovers and a brighter future. Alas, picture-book–creator Ford’s middle-grade debut is a muddled, melodramatic mystery with something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel: In addition to the premise, there’s a tragically dead father, a mysterious family tree, and the Beat poets. Sluggish pacing; stilted, unrealistic dialogue; cartoonishly stock characters; and unattractive, flat illustrations make this one to miss. Maria and Sebastian are both depicted with brown skin, hers lighter than his; the other principals appear to be white.
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit. (author’s note) (Paranormal mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20567-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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
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