Who are the scurvy thieves loose in the woodland district?
The “famous Detective Gordon” is a portly, old toad. He’s the only police official in his district. Though he’s wise and experienced, he’s often a bit tired. He always skillfully applies the tools of his trade: his intellect, his official stamp, which goes “Kla-dunk” in a very satisfying way, and his pistol (safely locked away). When Vladimir the squirrel rushes in crying for his lost stash of nuts, Detective Gordon stakes out Vladimir’s nut hole. He catches his friend Buffy, a poor, hungry mouse, stealing one nut, but Buffy could not possibly have stolen all 204 nuts missing from Vladimir’s hole. Kindly Detective Gordon deputizes Buffy and finds it’s most excellent to have someone young and enthusiastic (and nimble) around the office. But can the detective duo discover the identity of the thieves? If a heretofore-unknown collaboration between Agatha Christie and A.A. Milne were to be uncovered, it would likely bear a striking resemblance to Nilsson’s charming, wry and entertaining chapter-book mystery. Deftly translated by Marshall and decorated with Spee’s delightful full-color illustrations of clothed woodland creatures, this gentle tale of intergenerational friendship reads like a classic.
The only sadness is that Volume 2 isn’t immediately available. (Mystery. 4-10)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927271-49-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER
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Eleven-year-old Maria Russo helps her charlatan mother hoodwink customers, but Maria has a spirited secret.
Maria’s mother, the psychic Madame Destine, cons widows out of their valuables with the assistance of their apartment building’s super, Mr. Fox. Madame Destine home-schools Maria, and because Destine is afraid of unwanted attention, she forbids Maria from talking to others. Maria is allowed to go to the library, where new librarian Ms. Madigan takes an interest in Maria that may cause her trouble. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Maria’s new upstairs neighbor, would like to be friends. All this interaction makes it hard for Maria to keep her secret: that she is visited by Edward, a spirit who tells her the actual secrets of Madame Destine’s clients via spirit writing. When Edward urges Maria to help Mrs. Fisher, Madame Destine’s most recent mark, Maria must overcome her shyness and her fear of her mother—helping Mrs. Fisher may be the key to the mysterious past Maria uncovers and a brighter future. Alas, picture-book–creator Ford’s middle-grade debut is a muddled, melodramatic mystery with something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel: In addition to the premise, there’s a tragically dead father, a mysterious family tree, and the Beat poets. Sluggish pacing; stilted, unrealistic dialogue; cartoonishly stock characters; and unattractive, flat illustrations make this one to miss. Maria and Sebastian are both depicted with brown skin, hers lighter than his; the other principals appear to be white.
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit. (author’s note) (Paranormal mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20567-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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A fifth grade girl brings her love of chemistry to the school play.
Kate loves science so much she’s determined to breathe fire. Of course she knows that she needs adult supervision, and so, with her science teacher’s help, Kate demonstrates an experiment with cornstarch and a blowtorch that nearly sets her teacher’s cactus on fire. Consequences ensue. Can someone who loves science as much as Kate does find pleasure spending her fall break at drama camp? It turns out that even the school play—Dragons vs. Unicorns—needs a chemist, though, and Kate saves the day with glue and glitter. She’s sabotaged along the way, but everything is fine after Kate and her frenemy agree to communicate better (an underwhelming response to escalating bullying). Doodles decorate the pages; steps for the one experiment described that can be done at home—making glittery unicorn-horn glue—are included. The most exciting experiments depicted, though, include flames or liquid nitrogen and could only be done with the help of a friendly science teacher. Biberdorf teaches chemistry at the University of Texas and also performs science-education programs as “Kate the Chemist”; in addition to giving her protagonist her name and enthusiasm, she also seems represented in Kate-the-character’s love of the fictional YouTube personality “Dr. Caroline.” Kate and her nemesis are white; Kate’s best friends are black and South Asian.
A fun-if-flimsy vehicle for science lovers. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11655-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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