When Mr. Chickee gives fourth-grader Steven Carter a special present, he sets in motion this first in a humorous series starring the Flint Future Detectives. Steven calls in the experts: Mom and Dad. Dad helps clear up the first mystery: It’s a quadrillion-dollar bill, with the face of James Brown, godfather of soul. It’s funny money, of course. But Mom isn’t so sure. Secretly armed with a hidden amplifier, Steven goes with his father to visit a U.S. treasury agent. He learns that his bill is legitimate, but the government wants it back. Steven calls in reinforcements, his best friend Russell Woods and Russell’s oversized dog, Zoopy. The story continues with a madcap chase in which the two boys ride the dog down a busy highway and Steven ends up doing the appropriate thing with the money, surviving a fall over the Flint River dam, but nearly losing Zoopy. The zany action will appeal to middle-grade readers and the fast pace makes for an excellent read-aloud. Another winner from a master storyteller. (Fiction. 8-11)
