dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
Fun start of a contemporary mystery/detective series for middle grade readers. It is an actual mystery novel while also poking fun at and paying homage to several of the great mystery/ detective series for kids of previous generations.
sandraagee's review against another edition
4.0
It's kind of a Hardy Boys spoof that manages to be hilarious while still being a reasonably good mystery. Also, librarians are all trained as super secret agents. All kinds of fun.
cogsofencouragement's review against another edition
4.0
This was a clever adventure with lots of wit.
shighley's review against another edition
3.0
I'd heard good things about this, and thought it was a great setup, but I don't really think kids will get much of the humor in this. The librarian, detective, and police stereotypes may seem funny at first, but the laugh-out-loud moments ended up being outnumbered by the groaners. I realize much of it is tongue-in-cheek, but I think a lot of it will be over kids' heads.
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.