Readers will become inquisitive sleuths as they navigate this whimsical, playful mystery.
A middle schooler races to uncover the mystery of a missing third grade teacher at Sacred Kidney, her Catholic school, in this series opener that’s linked to the Murdle Jr. series of puzzle activity books.
Jake, a junior detective appointed by “the grand master of logic,” Deductive Logico, is defending her nerdy sidekick, Sterling, against school bully Brick when a scream interrupts them. Peering into the library, the trio witness Miss Saffron scuffling with an unknown individual. When she’s absent the next day, Jake, Sterling, and Brick become an unlikely team in pursuit of answers and suspects. Sterling and Brick evolve beyond their archetypes, and Jake remains steadfast in her commitment to truth and justice. As is common in middle-grade mysteries, the adults are easily fooled by the junior sleuths. The team’s investigation, far from amateur, utilizes a secret command center equipped with pricey gadgets that titillate the imagination. Jake’s narration evokes the golden age of whodunit detective stories (“Let’s keep friendship outta this, okay, pal?”). Grids and instructions allow readers to join in solving the mystery. Alongside the investigation, a storm—both literal and symbolic—brews, only clearing once order and justice are restored. Black-and-white full-page and spot-art illustrations add a humorous touch. Characters largely present white.
Readers will become inquisitive sleuths as they navigate this whimsical, playful mystery. (reading guidelines, Detective Club message, answer key) (Mystery. 7-11)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9780316582254
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face.
Four misunderstood villains endeavor to turn over a new leaf…or a new rap sheet in Blabey's frenzied romp.
As readers open the first page of this early chapter book, Mr. Wolf is right there to greet them, bemoaning his reputation. "Just because I've got BIG POINTY TEETH and RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS and I occasionally like to dress up like an OLD LADY, that doesn't mean… / … I'm a BAD GUY." To prove this very fact, Mr. Wolf enlists three equally slandered friends into the Good Guys Club: Mr. Snake (aka the Chicken Swallower), Mr. Piranha (aka the Butt Biter), and Mr. Shark (aka Jaws). After some convincing from Mr. Wolf, the foursome sets off determined to un-smirch their names (and reluctantly curbing their appetites). Although these predators find that not everyone is ready to be at the receiving end of their helpful efforts, they use all their Bad Guy know-how to manage a few hilarious good deeds. Blabey has hit the proverbial nail on the head, kissed it full on the mouth, and handed it a stick of Acme dynamite. With illustrations that startle in their manic comedy and deadpan direct address and with a narrative that follows four endearingly sardonic characters trying to push past (sometimes successfully) their fear-causing natures, this book instantly joins the classic ranks of Captain Underpants and The Stinky Cheese Man.
We challenge anyone to read this and keep a straight face. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91240-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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