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SPIDER KANE AND THE MYSTERY UNDER THE MAY-APPLE

The sinister Emperor Moth has captured Mimi, a lovely butterfly with a past. Meanwhile, Leon Leafwing, in love with Mimi and desperate to rescue her, enlists the aid of Spider Kane, the Sherlock Holmes of the bug world, who leads a perilous rescue mission to the Emperor's rotting palace deep in the Dark Swamp. The kidnapping and rescue all prove to be an elaborate charade, designed to test Leon's mettle and determine whether he's brave and dependable enough to join the Order of the MOTH, an elite band devoted to solving mysteries and fighting injustice. Using skills honed in her realistic novels (Last One Home, 1987), Osborne differentiates a sizable cast of creepy-crawly characters and will keep readers guessing; the clothed creatures in Chess's numerous b&w illustrations have her amusing trademark moon faces with prominent noses and round white eyes. A quality book that may need booktalking to find its audience—many children young enough to like a story in which all the characters are bugs will not be able to read it. Adults who read the book aloud will be rewarded with a novel sendup of the Genteel Amateur Sleuth genre. A sequel is in the works. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-679-80855-8

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992

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THE DIAMOND MYSTERY

From the Whodunit Detective Agency series , Vol. 1

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

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AVEN GREEN SLEUTHING MACHINE

From the Aven Green series , Vol. 1

A fun series opener with a feisty protagonist who’ll keep readers on their toes.

Bowling introduces the outspoken, armless narrator of her Life as a Cactus series to younger readers.

Eight-year-old Aven Green doesn’t need arms to be a good private investigator; her feet work just fine. In fact, all those extra arm cells went to her brain instead—at least, that’s her hypothesis. So when somebody starts stealing food at school, she’s on the case. But then her great-grandma’s dog, Smitty, goes missing, and then new student Sujata arrives—looking mysteriously sad. Can Aven’s “super-powered brain” solve three cases at the same time? The simple plot, peppered with humorous malapropisms and leaps of kid logic, is primarily a showcase for Aven’s precocious personality. Witty, stubborn, and self-confident (“I was shy once. It was on a Wednesday afternoon in kindergarten”), Aven takes her disability in stride; her classmates are also accepting. She and her friends share rowdy and gleefully gross activities, complete with “ninja” chops, flatulence, and “rainbow barf.” Her (adoptive) parents are warmly supportive, but her long-suffering teacher is perhaps too much so; her remarkable tolerance for Aven’s occasionally disruptive antics may raise some eyebrows. Perry’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations energetically depict Aven’s agile feet and mischievous grin. The tidy ending sets up another adventure; a list of Aven’s “sleuthing words” is appended. Most characters, including Aven, appear to be White; Sujata is Indian American.

A fun series opener with a feisty protagonist who’ll keep readers on their toes. (Mystery. 6-9)

Pub Date: April 6, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-4549-4221-4

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Sterling Children's Books

Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021

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