March 1, 2017
Gr 1-3-A new series featuring animal-centered mysteries. In Farm Friends Escape!, 11-year-old cousins Sarah and Luke, who spend summers with their grandparents on their farm, must discover who released the animals from the petting zoo. In Dolphin Rescue, 10-year-old Maddie and her nine-year-old brother Atticus live in a close-knit island community with their single father, and they must solve the mystery of who has been dumping trash cans in their neighborhood. In each story, the animals and the children have interactions that will delight kids (Atticus and Maddie save a baby dolphin, and Sarah and Luke rescue their rabbit right before she gives birth). Young readers will enjoy the twist in each mystery-a misbehaved dog knocking over the trash, and a clever goat unlatching the petting zoo gate-as well as the full-color photographs and related facts about the animals or setting interspersed throughout the text. VERDICT An engaging new mystery series that all elementary age students, not just emerging or reluctant readers, will find satisfying.-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA
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