Readers who have come this far with the series will find themselves giggling over Sesame’s good-natured bossiness and her...
That precocious sleuth on roller skates, Sophie “Sesame” Seade, attempts to track down the source of the bug that is making the Cambridge rowing team sick on the eve of its race with Oxford.
Sesame “works” as her undergraduate friend Jeremy’s investigative reporter for his UniGossip newspaper. Her native intelligence and determination are nicely combined with her penchant for hyperbole, exaggeration, and exasperation with the slow pace of those around her. The result is a wonderfully impertinent first-person voice traveling at speed and pitched directly to the intended audience of bright preteens. The young heroine’s middle school–style wisecracking is relentless and very often hilarious as she and best friends Troy and Gemma search for possible villains. Their discovery of a pirate chest hidden in the reeds along the riverbank, an encounter with a family of merchants who’ve noticed jewelry going missing from their barge, and a Nancy Drew–like kidnapping of the heroine offer plenty of misdirection and opportunities for speculation. Horne’s cartoon illustrations throughout emphasize the slightly looney charm of the young detective and her exploits, depicting Sesame and Troy as white and Gemma with East Asian features. The singular landmarks of the university, its town, and its traditions are scattered through the narrative—obstacles as often as not to Sesame’s successful detective work.
Readers who have come this far with the series will find themselves giggling over Sesame’s good-natured bossiness and her impressive snooping skills. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: April 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3630-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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
"The short, sad life of Tooley Graham was over," doesn't sound like a happy conclusion but is pitch perfect in this short, simple and endearing middle-grade novel that follows on the heels of The Small Adeventure of Popeye and Elvis (2009). Owen Jester is focused on several things during his summer vacation: finding a way to keep his trapped "pet" bullfrog alive and happy, locating what fell off a train with a loud crash! one night and keeping annoying next-door neighbor Viola—who knows everything—out of their business as he schemes with his two best friends, Stumpy and Travis. The discovery of a sleek, red two-person submarine in the brush alongside the tracks changes everything. Can three young, girl-hating boys and a willing and very able—and tolerant—girl move a submarine to Graham Pond? If they manage that, will they ever be able to pilot it? In the heat of a languid Georgia summer vacation, in the dreams of irrepressible youth, anything is possible. O'Connor has spun a lovely read that perfectly captures the schemes and plans of school-age kids in the long days of summer. (Fiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-36850-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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