Light encouragement for developing literary as well as logical chops.
Following on Sleuth & Solve (2019), nine more mystery scenarios designed to test powers of observation and deduction.
“Malevolent beings” of one type or another—some drawn from classics like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” or Jane Loudon’s The Mummy! (1827), others being generic creepy creatures like witches and ghosts—add mild chills to each short incident. Along with the occasional visual clue, Escandell’s cartoon illustrations add properly gothic shadows and leering, toothy figures. Following up on introductory instructions for young detectives on how to winkle clues out of narratives and pictures, Gallo concludes each of her briefly told plot summaries or setups with a question: “Which of the three men is the werewolf?”; “Who was the dog that Andrei met on the road?” Solutions, for those who need them, can be deciphered by use of a simple substitution code provided on the inside front cover. (Really clueless readers can turn to the back for the answers in clear prose.) She also suggests ways of making all of this a competitive game, offering arbitrary difficulty ratings for each mystery as a means of keeping score. The art is colored, but faces, being just line drawings, are paper white throughout with little to no attempt to indicate racial diversity.
Light encouragement for developing literary as well as logical chops. (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7972-0590-8
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A mystery, a school story, sibling rivalry and the loss of a pet blend surprisingly well in this engaging chapter book. Charmingly awkward fifth grader Edgar Allan decides to solve a series of minor thefts that are plaguing his teacher, Ms. Herschel. Clues are plentiful—and rhymed—but the competition to solve them is fierce. Edgar’s nemesis, Patrick Chen, seems to have the inside track since his dad works in forensics. Edgar, however, finds that the friends he makes along the way provide the winning edge. Including transcripts of Edgar’s ingenuous interviews as well as poems written by a number of class members in her narrative, Amato provides a clear picture of both social and family dynamics while keeping the story moving smoothly along. The author’s characteristic humor is somewhat muted, but examples of amusing wordplay abound. Some readers may guess the identity of the culprit more quickly than Edgar and his friends do, but whodunit is not really the point. Solving puzzles, making friends and learning to see the world more clearly are the true aims of this adventure. (Mystery. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2271-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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