Wordplay, smart solution, a fantastic mystery, and shrew facts? Meet your new favorite detective!
A “shrewd” detective gets sucked into a mystery filled with peril (and delicious snacks) at every turn.
Minerva Shrew is clever, but she’s more interested in solving “the Big Mysteries of Life and the Universe” than anything else. Yet when her cousin Tenacity shows up begging her to prevent a murder before it occurs (“the mystery is whether my friends and I will still be alive tomorrow,” says Tenacity), she’s compelled to help, even if that means stepping into the treacherous home of human beings. It seems that the lady of the house has lost a precious pearl necklace, and she blames the woodland creatures that have taken up residence. Worse still, unless Minerva solves the case, exterminators will gas every living creature present. Minerva has wallpapered her home with dictionary pages, and Preus throws out words like insouciantly and au courant while defining them along the way. The author excels at verbal punnery, making reference to “Shrewlock Holmes” and “Nancy Shrew”; Minerva enjoys meals of “cockroach au vin,” “pest-o sauce,” and “mashed potato bug.” Scientific facts are deftly integrated, as when we’re told that Minerva must eat every 15 to 30 minutes (as the impressive informational backmatter attests). Best of all, the mystery is cleverly laid out and peppered with clues, while Wu’s charming art brings Minerva and her ravenous detective mind to life. In the illustrations, humans have paper-white skin.
Wordplay, smart solution, a fantastic mystery, and shrew facts? Meet your new favorite detective! (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781419778025
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre.
In the latest installment of the delightfully disturbing chapter-book series, the mundane once more takes on supernatural qualities, this time in the form of veggies.
With this follow-up to Troubling Tonsils! (2025), our host, Jasper Rabbit, once more channels Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. As Jasper narrates, we meet our heroes: fourth graders Thaddeus Badger and Oliver Possum, who love nothing more than eating junk food, particularly the hamburgers at Hurt-A-Burger (a mildly brilliant corporate name on the author’s part). When Oliver’s parents trick the two into a dinner of salads at their favorite fast-food joint, Thaddeus feels betrayed, but Oliver experiences something a little more dire. Soon after, Oliver starts acting strangely, and his parents begin behaving even more oddly. What’s going on? And does it have anything to do with the full moon? Tone is the true star of the show in this series; the mystery unspools thanks to the buildup of unnerving moments. Reynolds combines suspense with a keen ability to artistically frame both sunny innocent sequences and those rich with dark foreboding. Notably, this is no morality tale about eating your vegetables—this tale is fully on the side of its child readers. Brown’s black-and-white images, punctuated with eerie pops of green, heighten both horrifying and comedic moments.
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781665961110
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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