Strongly influenced by classic comics and underground comix alike, this monochrome, graphic novel-style mini-melodrama pits an anxious everylad against a menacing crook with both a tongue-twisting moniker and a gang of dwarfish, masked minions. Having lost both his math book and his shadow on the way home from school, Jackie turns to grizzled sage Mr. Socrates for help—and learns that his shadow, at least, has been seized by the Shadow Snatcher to incorporate into a cloak of concealment. So it’s on to the Snatcher’s spooky old mansion for a confrontation. Using layouts that place inset panels of various sizes into larger scenes, Di Fiori pumps up the suspense by giving Jackie a wide-eyed look, also adding eerie background details and plenty of noir atmosphere to the small town setting. Closing with a frantic chase and the well-timed arrival of a boatload of Keystone-like Cops, the episode will keep children, at least briefly, on the edges of their seats even as its self-conscious archness (the Shadow Snatcher is last seen dashing away, muttering “Groan! This is a repugnant situation.”) will amuse more sophisticated readers. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 13, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-87515-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2006
Sly runs a detective agency called “Sleuth for Hire,” but she only takes cases that her cat, Taxi, would care about. She is smart and serious and is kept in business by her friends. In Case #1, she is hired by her pal Jack, known for his sudden appearances, to figure out why there’s always a flock of birds hanging out on the soccer field. After collecting a few clues, Sly discovers a custodial mishap. Case #2 deals with her friend’s missing ballet slippers, disappearing swim fins and appearing baseball cleats. Sly is given to moments of self-doubt, jealousy and grumpiness, but ultimately her gumshoe skills pay off. In Case #3, the question is why Brian, her lively four-year-old neighbor, suddenly wants to be rolled by a rolling-pin, dangle from trees and take long soaks in the tub. In this trio of trifles there is not a nail-biting moment to be found, but Sly and her friends do deliver a pleasant read and some clues to the mysteries of friendship. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-8037-2994-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
This early chapter book follows multitasking fourth grader Lindy Blues as she tracks down stories for her weekly neighborhood news show. Assisted by her brother Alex and his hand-me-down camcorder, Lindy broadcasts from the “Lindy Blues Network Studio”—her garage. Curious and clever, she turns a slow news day into a buoyant first-person account, using math skills both to solve the titular mystery and help her friend Joshua win a toy rocket launch contest. Information about U.S. silver dollars is woven into the text, and Woodruff’s lively illustrations complement and extend the story. The use of the present tense, and Lindy’s tendency to refer to herself in the third person, seem stylistically right, given the busy girl’s dedication to her reportorial role. Tuned-in kids will enjoy Lindy’s inventiveness as she scoops some really local news. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7614-5284-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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