A funny, fast-paced mystery with many Singapore-specific details that provide cultural flavor.
A new kid-detective series offers a cross-cultural twist.
Samuel Tan Cher Lock is a Chinese boy growing up in Singapore. He prefers to go by Sherlock Sam after his hero, Sherlock Holmes. While ever hungry narrator Sam will be familiar to many food-crazy Singaporeans, American readers may get frustrated at the numerous unfamiliar terms such as kaya toast and Khong Guan biscuits (“biscuits” actually refers to cookies); the lengthy and informative glossary will help. Hopefully Sam's knack for digging up details and smart deductions will keep readers flipping the pages. Regardless, this food-related mystery is a perfect introduction to the series. Auntie Kim Lian has promised to cook Sam’s favorite dish, ayam buah keluak (chicken cooked in black nut sauce), but her family cookbook is missing and she can’t make it without the recipe! Sam is determined to find the cookbook and have ayam buah keluak for dinner. Together with his crew—wisecracking robot Watson, big sister Wendy, and classmate Jimmy—Sam retraces Auntie Kim Lian’s steps all over the Katong neighborhood. After a day of sleuthing, everyone is ready to give up. However, Sherlock Sam has a stroke of genius and solves the mystery—at a restaurant no less! In addition to a smattering of black-and-white line drawings that liven up the story, the glossary in the back explains both the Singapore slang and foods mentioned in the book. The sequel, Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning, publishes simultaneously.
A funny, fast-paced mystery with many Singapore-specific details that provide cultural flavor. (list of characters) (Mystery. 7-9)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4494-7789-9
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Delightfully smart and deliciously funny—don’t miss it.
The Dunderheads are back in another amusing caper that’s sure to please fans of their earlier exploits (The Dunderheads, 2009).
Once again, Einstein narrates with tongue-in-cheek, deadpan humor. Along with his friends, he expects the last day of school to mean that they are rid of their nemesis/teacher, the evil Miss Breakbone. Sadly, they are wrong. Children and teacher alike try out for roles as extras in a film and find themselves together again. Worse, Miss Breakbone fingers Spider as a thief when a cat burglar strikes. Einstein, of course, comes up with the perfect plan to capture the real thief, capitalizing as before on his friends’ varied interests and abilities. Unfortunately, his plan falls through, and all of the kids wind up in the poky. How they succeed in solving the crimes and turning the tables on their arch enemy, Miss Breakbone, strains credibility but entertains all the same. It's not as though credibility is the point, after all. At least half the fun comes from Roberts’ clever illustrations, created in watercolor, pen and ink. As before, each Dunderhead’s appearance reveals his or her individuality; new characters are equally clearly limned. Some sly references might go over the heads of the intended audience (don’t miss Liza as Sally Bowles in the line-up of aspiring extras), but readers of all ages will enjoy poring over the pages to find the hidden humor.
Delightfully smart and deliciously funny—don’t miss it. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4543-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
Perhaps the captain’s next outing will find all its elements in better sync.
Part clever Sherlock Holmes, part bumbling Maxwell Smart, the turbaned Capt. Coconut is a new detective on the scene.
He sets out to solve a case involving the three members of an Indian household: Mrs. Y, her sister, and her nephew, Gilli. Mrs. Y bought 14 bananas, but some are missing. She can account for four—they were eaten—but only six can still be found. After using his calculator to perform the simple mathematical task involved, the detective quickly realizes how many are gone, but the determined sleuth must still find the perpetrator. References, visual and verbal, to Bollywood musical interludes and vaudeville slapstick (remember banana peels) spice up the action, but the math is not complex enough for readers who have the sophistication to enjoy the dry wit and the unusual collage panels of this short graphic novel. The foolish detective, with his round belly sticking out of his safari suit and his red knee socks matching his red paisley nose, can’t open his office door or start his scooter, but of course he does finally solve the mystery. Suffice it to say, an unpleasant stomach ailment provides a clue. Creative readers can provide their own tunes for the three original songs, and the digital collages are filled with zany retro details.
Perhaps the captain’s next outing will find all its elements in better sync. (Graphic mystery. 7-9)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-93-83145-22-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Tara Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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