First Kids Mystery Series Off to a Good Start

Martha Freeman writes great mysteries for kids. She is the creator of the Chickadee Court mystery series that includes Who Stole Uncle Sam? and 3 others in the series. Since I introduced them to kids, they don't stay on the shelves. They are all well written accessible mysteries for elementary kids.

Now she has come out with a new series that take place in the White House. In the first book, The Case of the Rock 'n' Roll Dog, we are introduced to sisters Cammie and Tessa. They are the daughters of the president, living in the White House with their president mother, grandmother and Aunt Jen, who serves as White House Hostess.

In this first book, the girls are adjusting to life in the White House, Secret Service, the protocol of being the First Children, and living with their annoying cousin Nate. They are the owners of a dog who is a bit out of control and prone to stealing things. That leads to the mystery when things start to go missing and the girls must discover who is doing it.

Throw in a visit from popular boy band The Song Boys, a cast of White House employees that help the girls adjust and you have a really fun, easy to read mystery. I'll be recommending this to all of the kids at Bailey. It will be a push for some of the younger ones, just right for most third and fourth graders, and a quick read for the fifth graders. That's one of the reasons I really like this book, it has range! All kids can enjoy it and some will even solve it. Martha Freeman knows how to write for kids and I'm excited she is introducing another series.

New Andrew Clements Series: The Keepers of the School

Actually the whole title is Benjamin Pratt and the Keepers of the School: We the Children and actually, it's really good! The kids at my school love Andrew Clements, he's a pretty quick easy read for most of them, he writes a lot about kids at school, and he tells a darn good story. All things that kids love in a book. I know when school starts up again (not even thinking about it!) this is going to be a popular series.

Benjamin Pratt attends middle school at Oakes School on the coast of Massachusetts. The school was started just after the Revolutionary War by a sea captain Duncan Oakes and is now under attack from the city council who wants to tear the school down for a historical theme park.

In the opening book of the series, We the Children, Benjamin witnesses the death of the janitor and is given a mysterious medallion with the directions:

If attacked, look nor'-nor'east from amidships on the upper deck. First and always, my school belongs to the children. DEFEND IT.
Duncan Oakes, 1783

and with that, the mystery begins. Benjamin recruits his friend Jill to help him solve the mystery and the two of them find another mysterious artifact hidden behind a piece of base board after following the directions on the medallion.

The story line is well done with Benjamin's parents being separated and him splitting time between his mother's house and his father's sailboat. A third student, who isn't very nice to Ben, Robert Gerritt, is introduced early and even though Ben tries to avoid him, the story line keeps bringing them back together. In the final chapter, the two are pitted against one another in a sailing race that is very exciting and keeps the reader going. Andrew Clements provides a bit of a surprise in the end that is a cliff hanger that left me wanting to read the next book, NOW!

I really like the beginning of this series a lot. The book is only 143 pages which make it very accessible to every reader starting in the third grade. It's not fantasy or mythology or filled with weird creatures that are hard to keep track of, it's just a good mystery/adventure that real kids can imagine themselves a part of.

Looking for a Good Mystery?

Several kids have been asking for the Chickadee Court Mysteries. I wasn't familiar with the series name, but when they asked for Who Stole Halloween? and Who's Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? at least I could find that we had them. I never got around to reading either, which was unfortunate since they seemed to be fairly popular with kids.

While at my branch of the public library, I found Who Stole Uncle Sam? the latest adventure on the shelf and it didn't even dawn on me that it was part of the same series until I got it home. So finally, I was introduced to the Chickadee Court detectives, Alex and Yasmeen. Billed as "tween sleuths" on the jacket flap the two are best friends in a small town called College Springs, PA...huh...author Martha Freeman resides in State College, PA...coincidence? I THINK NOT! These tween sleuths got nothing on me!

This book, and I assume the others in the series too, will reach a wide variety of readers. I'm thinking third to fifth grade. In this adventure, Alex's baseball coach, Sam Banner, comes up missing just as he is supposed to lead the Memorial Day 5K that is sponsored by his lawn care company. It's a tradition for him to dress as Uncle Sam. When he goes into the Porta Potty to change, things go a little crazy with a fire that ruins all of the Fourth of July fireworks, and the coach is missing. He quickly re-appears in a different Porta Potty then the one he went into originally, and the mystery is afoot!

Martha Freeman gives the reader a really colorful cast of characters. There's Bub, the Viet Nam vet that lives on their street. He is known for his open door and constant pot of soup. Bub also helps the kids pull their info together. In this adventure, Alex interviews Bub about his Viet Nam experience for a class report, and the author does an excellent job of presenting this tough time in our history.

Officer Krichels is a bumbling, Barney Fife type police officer that works with Alex's mom. He comes in and out of the story, always adding a twist through his mistakes.

Alex and Yasmeen interact with Sofie Sikora, a hyper little chatter box that drives them both crazy, but helps them discover some interesting information about the case.

Finally, Alex's assistant baseball Coach Hathaway is also a Viet Nam vet that returned from the war and joined the peace movement. He still sports long hair and and earring and presents the other side of the conflict for Alex's school project.

It's fun quick read, and Martha Freeman keeps the reader guessing enough to keep them interested in the story. Just when I thought I had it figured out, a twist came along to throw me off on another solution. I can see why the kids like them, now that I've read one, I'll be recommending the Chickadee Court Mystery Series to more readers.

New Series: The Sherlock Files

I'm always excited to find a new series to add to our shelves. I've found that kids really like a good series and the way that the characters continue to grow. On a recent trip to my local library, I picked up the first in Tracy Barrett's new series, The Sherlock Files. The first installment is call The 100 Year-Old Secret.

The story is based on two main characters, Xena and Xander Holmes, a sister and brother who are distant grandchildren of the famous detective. Tracy Barrett does a great job of developing the two characters, Xena, the older sister likes to make lists and is a little less likely to take a chance than her little brother. She is very good at working puzzles and deductive thinking like her famous relative. Fortunately for the Holmes siblings Xena is an excellent climber. Xander has a photographic memory and is always recalling facts and definitions, which sometimes annoys his older sister. Xander is an athlete and constantly tries to move the duo forward on the mystery, even when they may not quite be ready.

The two find themselves in England for a year while their father is a guest music teacher in London. During the first week the two are playing their favorite game in which they try to identify what passers by are all about based only on appearances. The game has been passed down the generations beginning with their many greats grandfather. In the midst of the game they are handed a note which leads them to a meeting of Holmes and Watson relatives. The children are presented with a book that is a collection of Sherlock Holmes' unsolved cases.

Xena and Xander decide to work on the case of a missing painting that should be part of an exhibition close to their London apartment. This is where the fun begins! Kids like mysteries they can solve like a puzzle, Cam Jansen, Encyclopedia Brown come to mind. Barrett does an excellent job of creating one of those that younger readers, second or third grade, can get into and solve. The clues are there, not completely obvious, but enough that if a reader is paying attention they can solve this mystery.

The tricky part of writing like this is to keep the reader going after they think they have it solved it. Tracey Barrett does that by adding characters the interact with the Holmes kids and keep the other plot interesting. In this book it's a distant relative of Sherlock's sidekick Dr. Watson, Andrew. Andrew is about the age of the Xena and Xander, and very obnoxious! He seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder because his famous relative has been overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes. Andrew keeps coming back in the story and creates tension every time so that the reader wants to keep with the story to find out what his deal is!

I'm very excited about this series and plan on adding it to the library this year. It will be good to have another option for that group of mystery readers that have finished all of the Encyclopedia Browns and aren't ready for the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

Some other reviews at Becky's Book Reviews, and SLJ.

Books 2 is slated for May 2009 and book 3, 2010.

Blue Balliett's The Calder Game

Blue Balliett writes very sophisticated kids' mysteries. I love the mix of math, art, logic and suspense. She draws the reader in from the first page and keeps them in the story to the end. Her three main characters, Calder Pillay, Petra Andalee, and Tommy Segovia return to solve yet another mystery in her latest, The Calder Game. The three are now seventh graders at the University School in Chicago. They are extremely bright, creative kids and each has a special talent or ability that help them solve the problems Blue Balliett throws at them.

Balliett's first two art related mysteries, Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3, are favorites of mine, but I think this one is the best of the three. The plot was a little simpler to follow, with enough twists and turns to keep me interested, and as in all of them, there are interesting characters at every turn.In this adventure, Calder Pellay, yes named for the artist, and his classmates attend a showing of Alexander Calder mobiles at the Chicago Museum of Art. Fascinated by the changing sculptures, Calder, the student not the artist, stumbles on a game in which guests of the museum can design mobiles of five objects, words, ideas, whatever and hang them for all to see. Since Calder loves patterns that involve fives, this is right up his alley. Calder is known for the pentominos he carries in his pocket to help him solve a variety of problems.
When Calder's father is scheduled to travel to England to visit the gardens of Blenheim Palace, he takes his son with him to allow him to explore the mazes in the garden, and to experience small old town life in Woodstock, England. Calder is thrilled because it will get him away from his boring unimaginative teacher for a while, and his friends are envious. Imagine the surprise when Calder and his father find a sculpture by Alexander Calder in the center of the ancient English town. Needless to say, the townsfolk are not thrilled with the piece as it doesn't really match there town's "old English" charm. This is where the mystery begins, and student readers will need to hold on to keep things straight. Calder meets up with some unusual characters that both frighten and intrigue him. It's tough to sort the good guys from the bad guys as Blue Balliett weaves a twisted web of mystery around the disappearance of a boy named Calder, and a valuable sculpture by Alexander Calder.
As I said, I enjoyed this Blue Balliett mystery more than the other two, and I liked them a lot. I have found, though, that it is a special group of kids that enjoy them as much as I do. Many kids find the connection of art, math, philosophy, and logic too much to follow and give up on them easily. Of the three, I believe this one will be the easiest for them to follow and stay with. although the length, 375 pages, may seem daunting to some.

Once again, illustrator Brett Helquist provides a mystery within the mystery. In his drawings for this novel, pieces of Calder sculptures are hidden. When they are spotted, and matched with the kids' code in the story, a word is spelled. I have never been one for puzzles and have yet to figure out the puzzles in Helquist's drawings. If someone figures this one out, will you please let me know!?