carmenhartjensen's review against another edition
4.0
I just lOVE Mac Barnett and his sense of humor!
singerji's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
choosejoytoday's review against another edition
4.0
This was fun! Sort of Hardy Boys meets Nate the Great meets Leave it to Beaver. Steve (never Steven!) consults his Brixton Brothers (like the Hardy Boys) Detective Handbook for advice on everything. This comes in handy with the Librarians accuse him of trying to steal one of America's great knowledge secrets- a quilt-- from the library. (Because Librarians are more skilled than FBI or CIA agents, didn't you know). Meanwhile, the evil schemer trying to get the quilt, Mr. E (like mystery, get it?) is trying to catch Steve to see what he knows, and the good intentioned but generally bumbling local law enforcement are trying to find him too. Recommended to me a patron who listened to the audiobook with her boys (7 and 5) on a car trip and said the boys were "howling" with laughter the entire story. Sadly, there's just one sequel so far, but it appears book #3 is due out in early October!
jbojkov's review against another edition
3.0
I read this one after it was recommended on a librarian's blog. I was not as impressed as I expected to be, but it was pretty good. Light-weight mystery, but pretty much non-stop action with humorous moments thrown in from time to time. I could see advanced 2nd grade readers through maybe low 5th grade readers enjoying this series.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
A tongue-in-cheek middle grade mystery with a touch of Lemony Snicket. Plenty of laugh out loud moments and librarian shoutouts.
literarystrawberry's review against another edition
3.0
This is so up my ten-year-old self's alley that I'm kind of disappointed I didn't find it back when it was first published. Still a fun, quick read as an adult though.
wanderlustsleeping's review against another edition
4.0
Genuinely one of the funniest books I've ever read. I hope this author's books are around for a long time. Also, he's right about librarians, but you didn't hear that from me :P
tcbueti's review against another edition
3.0
A fan of detective novels is forced to become a detective to foil an evil plot.
Silly and suspenseful--I loved the descriptions of the formulaic "Bailey Brothers" detective novels, with their (mostly) useless tips (Steve dresses up as a sailor, complete with striped shirt, mustache and eye-patch, to infiltrate a bar--he's 12), and the band of top-secret librarian agents Steve has to outwit.
Silly and suspenseful--I loved the descriptions of the formulaic "Bailey Brothers" detective novels, with their (mostly) useless tips (Steve dresses up as a sailor, complete with striped shirt, mustache and eye-patch, to infiltrate a bar--he's 12), and the band of top-secret librarian agents Steve has to outwit.