Nancy is one sassy gumshoe. Her fans will enjoy growing up with her.
Fancy Nancy is back, this time in a chapter book.
Nancy Clancy loves fancy words here as much as she does in her popular picture-book series. Her interests are changing, though, as she grows up. An avid Nancy Drew fan, she and best friend Bree have a new Sleuth Headquarters and are excited to solve their first case. When their teacher’s special blue marble disappears, everyone in the class becomes a suspect. Their targets of suspicion change from moment to moment, leading the new detectives on a number of wild goose chases. When the real criminal is uncovered, the girls are forced to examine their assumptions. Fans of the Fancy Nancy series will enjoy reading about an old friend in a new, more grown-up setting. Fully fleshed-out secondary characters, especially Nancy’s parents and Mr. Dudeny, Nancy’s teacher, create a nice backdrop for this new series aimed at transitioning readers. It’s hard to write mysteries for a chapter-book audience, but O’Connor creates a plot with subtle clues and red herrings that allow readers to puzzle out the mystery along with Nancy. Nancy’s love of colorful language makes it fun to discover new vocabulary (motive, accessory, obstinate) while solving a dandy mystery. Glasser’s frequent black-and-white illustrations will help connect this new series with the earlier one.
Nancy is one sassy gumshoe. Her fans will enjoy growing up with her. (Mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-208293-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An optimistic series beginning for young mystery fans.
His atypical brain helps an aspiring, autistic sleuth crack a case.
Asked to write an acrostic of his name, Myron can't think of anything beyond the first word, "Mysteries." Myron is autistic, he tells a girl in his new class for kids with special needs; it means his brain works differently. It makes his head buzz when he's upset; it makes perfume and new situations overwhelming. It also makes him a persistent detective. Luckily, he encounters a mystery on his first day: someone has stolen the snacks from the school kitchen. With his reasoning skills and the help of his energetic new friend, Hajrah, Myron is determined to catch the snack snatchers. The simple mystery introduces deductive reasoning, and Myron's voice clues readers in to both his autism and sympathetic, occasionally humorous, earnestness. ("I don't see the point in kicking a ball across a field. It would be much easier to pick it up and carry it.") Like his acrostic, Myron's logical, literal narration reveals more plot than personality yet promises further development. He genuinely enjoys sleuthing (his affectionate dog is even named Columbo), deals with bullies, and makes friends; through Grand's animated illustrations, his facial expressions range from scowls and knitted brows to a wide grin. Autistic detective characters may have become slightly stereotypical, but O'Donnell gives Myron something they rarely get: opportunities to smile.
An optimistic series beginning for young mystery fans. (Mystery. 7-9)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77147-069-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will join Alison in hoping for more cases to come their way.
Is Nanny X of the Nanny Action Patrol too old for the spy game?
It’s been so long since their first case (Nanny X, 2014) that fifth-grader Alison Pringle worries she, her brother, Jake, and their baby sister, Eliza, will never again experience the thrill of helping their secret-agent nanny chase and catch a bad guy. Then the mysterious Angler threatens to destroy the national treasures of Washington, D.C., if the president doesn’t install a fish sculpture created by the Angler on the White House lawn. Can Nanny X, the three Pringle children, a monkey named Howard, and fellow (and rival) NAP agent Boris discover who the Angler is before pieces of our national heritage are destroyed? If Ian Fleming wrote Mary Poppins, the outcome would resemble Rosenberg’s second pleasantly foolish mix of child care and espionage, which is as breezy and funny as the first. Alison and Jake, two Everykids, again trade off narrative duties chapter by chapter as they help Nanny X solve the case with her teething-ring handcuffs, baby-powder spyglass, and diaper-phones, thus ably proving she's not ready for retirement.
Readers will join Alison in hoping for more cases to come their way. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3533-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
