Reading Rumpus Book Reviews

This is a terrific read aloud. Students love how the color on the illustrations unfolds mirroring the blind girl’s attempt to “see” with her fingers. The embossed pages are like Braille and it’s so much fun seeing kids gape at the surprise ending. Hwei Mingg is the emperor’s daughter and was born blind. She is shown as being alone and isolated in the beginning of the story as people try to come from all over the country to cure her of her blindness. When an old man travels from a great distance with his Seeing Stick he opens the world up to Hwei Ming by teaching her to “see” through touching the people and objects around her.

Before reading I tell the grade 3 or 4 students to notice the color (or lack of color) and then stop to ask them to “turn and talk” about it on the page with the old man carrying The Seeing Stick, which is the first page with color. Why did the illustrator put color on this page? This introduces the themes and forces them to make connections between the art work and text.  One might be offended by the portrayal of Hwei Ming’s blindness arguing it is a stereotype of a character with a disability who does not do “normal” activities such as playing with other children or exploring the palace. But I think her blindness is balanced by the old man who does lead a normal life and shows Hwei Ming how to “see” whereon she teaches other blind children the same lesson. The story ends with much hope and joy and the focus is on Hwei Ming and how she changes versus how she is blind. It is an opportunity to talk about characters with disabilities and how they are portrayed in literature.

The artwork is stunning. The illustrator uses traditional Chinese painting with patterned textures on the clothing. The long robes suggest the period of time to be from the Qing Dynasty that lasted for over 200 years. The brushwork is reminiscent of the calligraphy or ink paintings with monochromatic pictures and little, if any, color. The first page shows Hwei Ming’s robe as being almost transparent, a reflection of her isolation or withdrawn nature. She’s like a ghost in the palace. The illustrations that pour from the Seeing Stick change and look like folk art. The way they are designed with white outlines made me think of the famous Chinese paper cuts that have around since the 6th century. The women I work with who grew up in Taiwan said the Seeing Stick images reminded them of shadow puppetry.The borders resemble what is seen on walls and temples.

I think the story would have been even more powerful if the illustrator had used symbols from Chinese culture in her textures. For instance, Hwei Ming’s flowered dress has what looks like a chrysanthemum design, but this is a flower given at funerals. If the magnolia flower had been used it represents sweetness and beauty which would have added a nice layer to an already well-told story and the tactile nature of the embossed paper. There was also strict codes of colors that only royalty could wear during the Qing Dynasty. While Terrazinni does have the emperor in a yellow robe the design is plain circles. It kind of looks like the sun and the emperor was recognized as, the son of heaven.The circle motif in Chinese art has many symbols such as prosperity, riches, the sacred disc and more. Too bad one of them wasn’t slipped in the artwork. I thought about the famous emperor and his yellow robe that I have read in children’s literature. Historically the dragon motif symbolized the emperor and is reflected in illustrations of court robes. It seems Terrazinni missed an opportunity with the cultural symbols, but it doesn’t detract from the story. Not at all. The illustrations are a feast for the eyes. You’ll definitely want this one for your library.

Reading Level 4.4

4 out of 5 Smileys

As a kid I would watch The Carol Burnett show and loved the skits by comedians Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Conway was so funny that Korman would forget his lines and  laugh until he was gasping for air. They stole the show. I would sit with my parents bouncing on the couch anticipating their upcoming skits. Obviously they were having a blast and the humor was infectious. Riordan writes like he’s having a blast, shooting off jokes, word puns and banter like a circus ringmaster. I can’t wait to meet the gods he dreams up in his books. They are cartoonish and entertaining. Take the god of air, Shu. Sadie calls him “shoe” and “trash tornado” because he’s surrounded by debris. As he scolds Sadie he puffs on an inhaler complaining, “‘Brooklyn ozone levels – deplorable!”

Sadie and Carter are saving the world from Apophis, the god of Chaos, who wants to destroy all humans so he can roam the earth freely versus his current condition where the gods have restrained him. The story picks up where book 2 left off with Sadie, Carter, Khufu, Felix, Walt, and Alyssa trying to get the last scroll from the Dallas Museum of Art that holds the clue to stopping Apophis. When a battle between the Kane group and Apophis occurs at the King Tut exhibit, the Kanes find themselves on the losing side with no scroll and a gold box. With the help of Thoth, the god of Knowledge, they discover the box holds the key to destroying Apophis. However, there are so many obstacles to overcome the task seems impossible. Not only is Apophis out to get them but a group of magicians have assassins after them and they have to rely on a traitorous ghost to help them on their quest.

As always, Riordan has tons of action with battles and monsters galore. Egyptian mythology is more complex than Greek mythology and less familiar so this story might be harder for young readers to follow. Riordan does use repetition, provides a glossary in the back, and uses mnemonic devices to aid the reader. The females are strong characters and Sadie isn’t going to take flack from anyone. There is more romance in this book and the characters think quite a bit about the people they are interested in. I think that this, coupled with the more complex mythology, makes the book more for middle grade students, although the reading level is beginning grade 5. Carter is interested in Zia and Sadie is interested in Walt and Anubis. I found this part of the plot predictable. I usually can’t predict Riordan’s plots, but I could with the romance storyline.

I didn’t think there was as much internal changes in the characters as in book one and two. Sadie struggles with not letting Isis control her but that was covered in the previous books. She also tries to be “normal” and go to school. Carter is a reluctant leader. Most of the internal changes is Sadie and Carter thinking about the two people they want to be romantically involved with. Sadie has to find acceptance and Carter doesn’t seem to know if Zia likes him as much as he likes her. This is the last in the trilogy but Riordan hints at the possibility of continuing it in the ending. Make sure you have a bundle of time when you read this book – it’s a rip-roaring yarn that is hard to put down.

Reading Level 4.9

4 out of 5 Smileys

Tornadoes can be fascinating… and frightening. Usually, there is an eerie calmness before the sky turns a greenish hue and blackens. A stinging wind stirs the air with dead leaves and dirt before sirens wail. Panicked, you scramble indoors to safety.

Now, close your eyes and imagine a future where tornadoes occur so frequently that you can’t even ride a bike outdoors. Or go on a hike. Or feel the wind on your face as you swing. Instead, you live in concrete bunkers or underground where it is safe. This is twelve-year-old Jaden’s world, set in the year 2050. Tornadoes have become so severe that the Fujita scale has changed from the top level measurement of an F6 to an F10.

When Jaden goes to live with her dad and step-mom at Placid Meadows, she finds a community where the tornadoes don’t touch down. A community where she can be outside without fear. Jaden’s dad has created a technology that protects Placid Meadows, but she hasn’t seen her dad in four years and is not sure how the technology works. Jaden asks him questions and while he shares information with her, she knows that something isn’t quite right. That the information does not reflect what is happening around her. Jaden digs deeper into her questions as she goes to a science camp to learn about meteorology. She makes friends with Risha, Alex, and Tomas and is paired with Alex who is interested in tornado dissipation like her. The two discover some inexplicable things about the nearby tornadoes that touch down and become determined to solve the mystery of Placid Meadows.

Messner does a great job with tension and establishing the characters right away, as well as creating a vortex of themes. When we first meet dad he is in the car with Jaden and they are trying to not get stuck in a tornado. They are racing to a shelter as debris and wind threatens to engulf their car. Jaden’s dad isn’t frightened. If anything he loves it and appears addicted to severe weather. He tells Jaden not to worry and is oblivious to the fact that she is terrified. The reader quickly learns that dad is single-minded and doesn’t respect other people’s wishes to not live in an artificial environment like farmers or Aunt Linda. He is bent on building Phase II of Placid Meadows and cannot understand why someone would choose a life that is unprotected from severe weather.

The genre is dystopia but I would also call it a mystery as well. There is plenty of action, character development, and tension. Jaden is trying to reconnect with her father, make new friends, solve a scientific problem, and understand choices people make as to where to live. I like how this well-crafted story has raging tornadoes that seem to mirror the storm that is going on inside of Jaden as she changes throughout the novel. She has to decide between saving other people or going against her dad. She also has to learn to trust and believe in herself. It is a multi-layered story that can generate some good book club discussions.

Some might find the story filled with too much science and technology but I really enjoyed that side and thought it was balanced with the rest of the story. I also thought Messner was creative in showing some devices that are currently used by storm chasers, such as a mobile meso-net unit and her futuristic device called a DataDrone. Other clever word plays are DNA-ture and DataSlate. I like how Messner uses the librarian who believes that old technology does not mean it is useless technology. So often we are racing off to collect the newest technology without thought as to whether or not it is better technology. I also got a kick out of the Risha’s binary coded bracelets that spelled out words. That was pretty funny. I wonder if Messner dreamed that up or if she knows someone who has bracelets like that?

There is some romance between Risha and Tomas and Jaden and Alex, but not much happens because they are too busy solving the mystery of Placid Meadows. Teachers could use this book for teaching small moments (pages 53 describes eating something delicious, 55 describes swinging) or the scientific method where students at camp are learning if-then statements and hypothesis (page 38). Our students are crazy about science and this should be a hit with them.

Reading level 4.8

5 out of 5 Smileys

This is the second book in the Keepers series, book one is the  Museum of Thieves . You need to read the first one otherwise this one will be confusing, especially the shifts in plot or references to the museum, Keepers, and Guardians from the city of Jewel. Some of the questions in the first book are answered such as who set off the bomb and we start to see why Goldie was chosen to be a Keeper – this is tied in with her discovering whose voice is in her head.

Goldie plays the hero as she sets off to rescue Toadspit’s sister, Bonnie, who has been kidnapped and taken to the city of Spoke. Two slavers, Cord and Smudge, steal children and Bonnie is their latest victim. When Toadspit and Goldie take after them, Toadspit is caught and Goldie is left on her own to come up with a rescue plan. The city of Spoke is celebrating the Festival of Lies (ironic twist on Festival of Lights) where people have to tell lies to each other and are abuzz with hope of getting caught by a magical “Big Lie”. This is when the lie takes over a person’s senses and takes them to an alternate world. As Goldie rescues her friends she finds out that the slavers are a part of a bigger conspiracy that involves the city of Jewel.

The author does a nice job with characters and the different voices. Cord and Smudge reminded me of Hook and Smee in Peter Pan and the uneducated orphans living in the streets have their own dialect. Goldie is the only character that changes. She has to learn to trust herself and she’s a reluctant hero. It is obvious to the reader that she should trust the voice in her head, but she stubbornly refuses to – which I found downright irritating. I see that it is a setup for later when the “voice” is explained and I appreciate that unique twist in the story, but the author has her doubting the “voice” because there looks like a betrayal; however, the betrayal is obviously not one which is why it doesn’t work. Okay, that’s a tongue-twister. I would have liked more development on Pounce. He was fun, wasn’t he? I like the trickster in stories. I would have liked to crawl inside his brain for awhile. The villains are basically the same characters and don’t change. While there is plenty of action or external tension in this story there isn’t a lot of internal tension through the characters.

The plot is somewhat messy. The beginning is forced when Goldie has to decide between the Keeper and her parents. I thought she was being melodramatic and impractical by saying she’ll “never” be a Keeper. She just needed to take care of her parents and couldn’t be a Keeper at the moment. This character change was too contrived for me and didn’t work. If she had just said, “Look my parents are really sick after being imprisoned and I can’t be a Keeper right now,” I would have bought it, but she was slamming the door shut and making it all or nothing. It didn’t ring true. Also, I thought her being a Beserker was kind of weird. I like that it scared her and forced her to cast off weapons and I think it is supposed to show that she is a warrior, which is why she should be a Keeper, but it isn’t fully developed, just suggested.

I love the risks and creativity Tanner takes with her writing. City of Lies doesn’t come alive for me like Museum of Thieves, which has a start that reminds me of The Giver and  museum that reminds me of Incarceron. The story is entertaining and the “Big Lie” is truly unique – I can’t think of that in any book. There is plenty of action and violence and the villains are somewhat cartoonish which makes them less threatening for young readers. Readers will enjoy this fantasy.

Reading Level 4.2

3 out of 5 Smileys

I’m confused. This looks like an early chapter reader for grades 2-3. It reads like an early chapter reader. But the reading level is 5.6 which means the vocabulary is at a 5th grade level. Huh? Typo? I’d be curious what others think about that… Maybe I can get a grade 3 teacher to read it and give his or her opinion. Hmmm.

Meet Precious. And no, it’s not Gollum, the horrible hobbit from Tolkien’s, Lord of the Rings. But it is Precious from an adult mystery series, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith. Mma Precious Ramotswe owns a detective agency as an adult. This story is about Precious as a seven-year-old who becomes interested in detective work.

Precious Ramotswe’s dad tells her exciting stories such as when he comes face to face with a lion and out-wits it by jumping in a covered grain bin. He makes the lion sneeze by tossing dusty bits from the bottom of the bin into it’s face. The villagers hear the sneeze and scare the lion out of the village and away from her dad.  Precious says that her dad is the person who gave her the idea of becoming a detective. Her first case is at school and involves food that keeps disappearing from the corridor outside the classroom. Students start blaming one another without any proof and Precious decides to set a trap to catch the thief.

The author does a good job with repetition and explaining concepts that will help the early reader in understanding and decoding this tale. Precious is kind and thoughtful. She explains three things that make a good detective: one that asks questions, one that can tell when people are not telling the truth, and one that doesn’t jump to conclusions but looks for evidence. There is humor throughout – I got kick out of the skinny cook echoing everything the big cook said because “it was safe.” When the kids accuse another student of being a thief, everyone deserts him except Precious who says she is his friend and knows he’s telling the truth when he says he didn’t steal anything. This would make a nice read aloud with discussions around topics such as what happens when false rumors and accusations spread, how to stand up for what you believe in, and the importance of being kind to others.

The plot is predictable regarding who stole the food and Precious sounds too old for a
seven-year-old  at times, but I don’t think it will matter to young readers. When Precious stands up for the boy I thought the dialogue sounded more like an adult preaching than a seven-year-old talking: “‘It doesn’t matter what people like that think,’ she said. ‘What matters is what your friends think. I’m your friend, and I know that you’re telling the truth.’” Maybe if my husband didn’t teach seven-year-olds it wouldn’t have stood out. I know that a seven-year-old’s speech is not that sophisticated.

It’s fun to make connections between the character in the adult series and the younger Precious. I have not read the adult novel in a long time but I do remember she likes to cook and eat. In this story, she outwits the thief with her cooking, even though I found it hard to believe a seven-year-old could bake a cake. You might have to suspend your beliefs here and there, but this tale is sweet and worth reading.

Reading level 5.6

3 out of 5 Smileys

P.S. That is the eBook title on OverDrive but when I looked for a photo I could only find the title,  The Great Cake Mystery.

Details… Details… (Sigh…) I am so good at missing the details.

Detective Nate the Great is better with details than me. I’m more like the characters in Julius Lester’s book, Sam and the Tigers.  And not Sam. I’m more like tigers that ran in a circle around Sam until they turned into butter. Or the Cat in the Hat who destroyed the house playing with the two kids. For instance, I cooked stir-fry the other night and splashed it on the ceiling and dribbled pineapple juice on the floor unbeknownst to me. My husband’s shoes sounded like suction cups on the floor as he went to do the dishes. Once in a while I moan about this defect, “It would be so nice to not miss the details, but even when I slow down, I still miss them… so why bother?” I just continue to streak along like Joey Pigsa, a locomotive out-of-control.

So you shouldn’t be surprised that I missed the details on this book cover that say, A BOOK INSPIRED BY THE SECRET GARDEN. I’m tooling through the pages indignantly thinking, “This book’s plot is just like The Secret Garden’s!” Duh. That was the author’s intent. If you have read The Secret Garden four times like I have then the comparisons between characters and plot are quite striking, and yet, Ellen Potter makes this story her own with a unique beauty. I fell in love with it by the end.

Roo is a tough cookie. She has to be. Her father and stepmom were drug dealers that died in a deal gone bad. Roo is in her secret hidey-hole under the trailer-home listening to a police officer who has come to collect her, talk to a neighbor. She discovers that she has a rich uncle and is going to live with him on an island. Roo is snotty like Mary in The Secret Garden, but whereas Mary is spoiled, rich, and neglected, Roo is poor and  neglected. Both girls are unwanted by their parents except Roo had a relationship with her father and grieves his death. She talks about the stories he’d tell and missing his hugs. The mom is out of the picture and there doesn’t seem to be a connection with the stepmom. Roo is a loner and survivor and it is no surprise that when she gets to the island that she is befriended by only one person, the maidservant Violet. Again, this story-line is just like Mary in The Secret Garden who becomes friends with the maidservant, Martha. Both girls are local and have a mother who is wise about children. Some of the best lines come from her. Violet, doesn’t have an accent like the Yorkshire girl, Martha, so she is easy to understand. I think the strength of this book is that it is easier to read for students in grades 3-5 versus Burnett’s young adult version.

The boy, Phillip, is very similar to Colin in The Secret Garden. He’s sickly, has dark circles under his eyes, and is prone to temper tantrums. Roo reacts to him with anger which is like Burnett’s story. There is a twist with skeletons that is interesting and true to the classic’s themes of death and grief. Also, the plot lines of how the mother died are different yet similar. I love the image of the mom being like a cormorant and a wildness to her, as well as, the garden representing her culture. Potter captures the Romantic Era’s focus on nature and character’s reacting strongly to it such as when Roo and Phillip can “hear” the humming of the earth. She doesn’t go to an extreme like in Burnett’s novel where Colin recites the Doxology but you get the idea that nature elicits strong feelings in characters.

Jack is like Dickon in The Secret Garden in that animals like him but he’s different in that he’s considered a fairie. Potter sprinkles magic and legends through her story that adds tension and mystery. Jack is a part of a local legend about Faigne (fairie), water creatures that control the weather, who came from Guernsey an island in the British Channel. There is a shadow in the garden that they think is the dead mother, a flower that suddenly blooms at Phillip’s feet, and a humming sound that comes from the earth and sounds like the song Phillip’s mother used to sing to him. Jack doesn’t really have a family and he lives on the river. He represents nature even more than Dickon.

Roo changes internally as she becomes friends with Jack and Phillip. She begins to bloom like a flower with joy and happiness. Potter does a nice job showing this change in a novel much shorter than the classic. I will recommend this novel to my students before the classic. It captures the magic of the original and is easier to read. I guarantee you’ll walk away humming.

Reading Level 4.5

4 out of 5 Smileys

I don’t read a heck-of-a-lot of adult novels since I became a children’s librarian. That’s why I like my book club – it forces me to read one every now and then.  I thought this novel had an awful lot of characters. New ones were hopping on board with less than a fourth of the book to finish. I prefer fewer characters in books but that might be the result of reading so many kids books. That said, there is no denying that Russell is brilliant at developing characters. I guarantee you’ll find at least one that you like. My problem is if I don’t like a character I buzz through the other characters trying to get to the one I like – something I did with this book. If you are a patient reader then you probably don’t have this problem. So…. while I did like the characters, I wished the plot had more twists and was less predictable.

This story takes place in Italy during the Holocaust. The Holocaust. My heart sinks. I know people are going to die. I know they are going to die in horrible ways. I know that fear reigns supreme and that people will turn on each other. I oftentimes approach Holocaust books with dread because I find them depressing, violent, and hopeless. Russell’s book was and was not like that. Many of the characters are funny and good ordinary people risk their lives to help them. Russell doesn’t really show characters that side with the Germans and turn in neighbors. Claudette is the first character we meet. She is fleeing with other Jewish refugees to Italy that has just surrendered to the Allies. Claudette is hoping for peace, but instead finds Nazis living in cities, Resistence fighters at war with them, ordinary civilians trying to survive, and a man who falls in love with her.

Russell does a terrific job getting you emotionally invested before killing the characters off. Some readers like this type of book. I don’t. I didn’t want to become emotionally invested in the characters (and I find it harder to when there are so many). So I didn’t. I put up a wall and didn’t let myself love them. I was having an emotionally exhausting week at work and didn’t want to go there. So I force-fed myself the pages of the book and thus have a not-so-good book review. If you want a more well-rounded review on characters and plot, I suggest Ben Babcock’s review (contains spoilers). He does a nice job.

Russell is a fabulous writer. I enjoyed her book, The Sparrow, but I didn’t really give this novel a fair shake. If you like reading about the Holocaust and enjoy a character-driven book, then I highly recommend this one.

4 out of 5 Smileys

adult

“Kinder than is necessary.”

Boh-doh-doh-dee-oh! Boh-doh-doh-dee-oh!

Okay, now sing those words.

And while you are at it make them sound like some musical instrument. This is called scat-singing made popular in the Jazz Age and a form that Jonah Winter doodles across the pages of his terrific picture book biography, Jazz Age Josephine. I made the mistake – or maybe not a mistake – of not reading this book beforehand and when I tried to sputter through the zee-buh-dop-zows and boh-doh-doh-dee-oh it did NOT sound like any musical instrument you’d find in any band. The kindergartners laughed so hard three grabbed their knees and rolled backwards like roly-poly eggs. And things got really interesting when we tried to do the Charleston dance. Let me tell you, I am NO Josephine. Josephine Baker to be exact.

African American Josephine Baker was singing the blues in St. Louis during the 1920s. She lived in a house with no heat, little food, and rats a-nibblin’ at her feet. As a teenager she snuck into the dance tent and made people laugh with her funny faces and terrific dancing where she made some money entertaining people. One night in St. Louis, some white people burned down the homes of many black people and Josephine decided it was time to leave. She went to New York City where she got a job on the stage. She was in the chorus and played the Minstrel. While audiences loved her, she was disgusted with the degradation of her race in the Minstrel role. She left for France where she found different stage roles and became famous.

The writing style combines riffs and rhythms to reflect jazz songs. If you are wondering what is a riff, like I was, it is a sentence that is repeated usually at the same part and in the same pitch.
The first part of the book trumpets rhyming couplets and riffs, People, listen to my story, ’bout a girl named Josephine. / People, listen to this story, ’bout a poor girl name of Josephine. / She was the saddest little sweetheart this side of New Orleans, while the second part of the book shimmy and shakes the riffs with scat-sentences such as, Boodle-am Boodle-am Boodle-am SHAKE! Boodle-am Boodle-am Boodle-am SHAKE! When Josephine goes to Paris, not only does the tone of writing change as it picks up a new beat to reflect the excitement of the stage, but the illustrator signals a change in the story direction by forcing the reader to tip the page up and down and illustrating Josephine at the Eiffel Tower. The setting now only shows Josephine in or besides the Paris theater house.

Can you tell the students favorite part of the book? That’s right… the last page where Josephine is sticking out her tongue. Josephine is funny. Not only does she stick out her tongue, she crosses her eyes and bugs them out making audiences laugh. The author’s note on the last page says that Josephine was so good at clowning in the show that she got a job on the New York stage at the age of 15.  Kindergartners are not going to understand the complexity of this story but they do get the humor and enjoy the repetitive language patterns. Although  one boy clearly understood when the black folks homes were being destroyed by white people because he shouted “meanies!”  The kids also liked it when we danced the Charleston and they liked singing, Boodle-am Boodle-am Boodle-am SHAKE! 

Priceman’s use of ink pen and gouache illustrations move Josephine across the pages like a gymnast on a springboard. Josephine is energetic, fun, and flexible with the flapper costumes and hairstyles so reflective of the roaring 1920s. Priceman adds some tidbits to the story such as the illustration of Josephine in her most famous banana peel skirt costume. The colorful Josephine also had a cheetah as a pet and would bring it on stage. If you want students to hear some Jazz music, listen to Louis Armstrong’s Heebee Jeebies (the second audio clip) which made scat-singing famous. Make sure you read this book out loud or sing it.

Good luck!

Duh-duhnt-duhnt!

Reading Level 2.4

5 out of 5 Smileys

A boy who shoves french fries up his nose. Another boy parading in underwear outside wearing his pants on his head like bunny ears. Girls twisting off the top of cheese crackers and poke-a-dotting their faces with the gooey middle. Hmmm. I’m thinking… is this another Captain Underpants? Nope, it’s the one and only goofballs. Jeff, Brian, Mara, and Kelly are detectives who have one thing in common – goofiness. When rich boy Randall Crandall loses his beloved pony, the four set-out to solve the mystery.

This series is similar to Nate the Great, Jigsaw Jones, or Cam Jansen. Jeff uses a notebook and words are repeated that help the beginning reader. There are silly puns such as “leaf” me alone or “water” you doing, wordplays such as “keep your plants on” or “The Magic School Bug”, and sayings such as “You’re a poet and you know it”  or “the butler did it”. The language is simple and some of the more difficult words defined.

Early readers are hard to find and good ones are even harder. It is tricky and challenging not to bore the reader when writing with a limited vocabulary and using repetition as a reading aid. Abbott tries something a little different here with all the puns and wordplays that is refreshing. Kids will like the jokes and silliness. What I think is lacking in this book is character depth. I can’t really picture Jeff, the narrator, in my head. I don’t know how old he is or what he’s like. I do know he tries to pay attention to details, because he writes clues in his notebook. But this seems more like a writing technique to help the reader understand the language than get to know Jeff. He only writes facts. Abbott starts out by having Jeff tell us what makes a good private eye: A private eye has to notice everything… A private eye has to ask questions, but this gets dropped by the last third of the book. I think he should have sprinkled more of this throughout the story, such as a private eye has a sense of humor or a private eye must not show what they are thinking. Something to give us more of a feel for the character, Jeff. Or maybe that is too much like Nate the Great who uses the phrase, “I, Nate the Great…”

I love rip-roaring unforgettable characters. Who doesn’t? Junie B. Jones is mouthy, self-centered, and mean. Marty Mcguire is a don’t-mess-with-me tomboy who has no problem kissing a frog and is NOT gonna wear a dress, not matter what her mom says. The Cat-in-the-Hat is a flamboyant, fun, troublemaker. Ling & Ting are forgetful and hyper. So while this story is fun and silly I didn’t find Jeff memorable.  I did find Brian however. Anyone who runs around with underwear on their head is pretty unforgettable. Maybe the problem lies in the first person point of view of Jeff. I am not sure. I will definitely be buying this series for our library.

No Reading Level

3 out of 5 Smileys