“What’s that smell in the Dell? / Do tell! / W—e—l—l…it comes from a cheese. / A great big cheese. A smelly, scrumptious cheese, / if you please.”
The cheese is so smelly the denizens of the Dell keep it in the middle of a field on a stone; it’s so yummy that they all gather together on each full moon to eat a small piece. But one night, the cheese is gone! So Farmer Jones does the only thing he can think to do: call Sherlock Bones, a hound dog of a detective in a houndstooth-check coat. Sherlock uses his senses and his smarts to solve the spiniest of mysteries. He asks the right questions; he follows his nose. He writes down his clues, and he confronts…a giant?! When the cheese thief is brought to justice, everyone celebrates and congratulates Sherlock Bones. Crummel and Donohue try to capture the rollicking wit of their Ten-Gallon Bart series and miss the mark. Donohue’s layered pencil and cut-paper illustrations are as detailed and expressive (especially the saggy, solemn Sherlock) as ever. However, shoehorning a logical investigation into a goofy tale of a pizza-making giant and a cheese cult that stores their Roquefort on a rock in the middle of a field doesn't fit. An additional purchase even after Sherlock explains his clues. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-0761461869
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Kids who don’t always have the vocabulary to express themselves will sympathize with this waggish pup and his earnest desire...
The gal-and-dog gumshoes are back, this time catching an unexpected culprit in the act.
Kayla, a little black girl, and her dog, narrator King, are playing fetch with Jillian, a white pal, and her dog, Thor. Jillian accidentally throws the ball over the neighbor’s fence. When she returns, she brings back an identical—but incorrect—ball. King is upset. It smells like another dog. It is not his ball. Luckily, Kayla and King are in tune, and Kayla realizes that King’s ball is missing. When they go to the neighbor’s yard, there are many other balls, but none that are small and blue. King is reunited with a foe from a previous story (King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats, 2017), a sneaky cat. The cat tells King that Mouse stole the ball. How could a tiny mouse steal a ball? Employing the use of their trademark list of facts, King and Kayla write down everything they know about the case. (King desperately tries to convey the critical information about Mouse, but alas, he is a dog and can’t make Kayla understand.) Confusion, mischief, and silliness abound.
Kids who don’t always have the vocabulary to express themselves will sympathize with this waggish pup and his earnest desire to be understood by his human. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-56145-879-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Solidly silly.
Inspector Brunswick and sidekick Nelson solve a dastardly mystery at the art museum.
They could easily be Holmes and Watson in their natty suits and fashionable hats, but Inspector Brunswick is a white cat, and Nelson’s a tan dog. After a busy week of case-cracking, the duo takes a break at the museum. Brunswick feels his whiskers tingle, a sure sign that something is amiss. Indeed, the portrait The Admiral looks quite different; Brunswick notices that his left eyebrow is missing! Everyone reacts with shock and begins frantically searching for the missing brow (depicted in a panoramic double gatefold). The eyebrow is nowhere to be found; Brunswick concludes that it has been stolen. Nelson, however, has a different idea. When they use their magnifying glasses, they find a tiny trail of footprints snaking all over the museum and ending at a painting of a cherub, now adorned with a brushy mustache. Only it’s not a mustache, it’s an eyebrow—correction, it’s a very hairy caterpillar! Case closed. The caterpillar returns to The Admiral, allowing the painting to change expression at will. Keoghan and Lam’s twisty mystery delivers droll surprises; it should encourage young readers to visit their local museums. Keoghan’s posterlike illustrations featuring clothed, anthropomorphic animals (including oxygen-breathing fish) are full of child-pleasing details, including the portraits, who react amusingly to the goings-on.
Solidly silly. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-84976-444-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tate/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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