Two mysteries for kids
Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat was hysterical. Intended for the early reader and told in a delightfully terse Sam Spade style, the book made me laugh out loud. The mystery isn’t scary or violent (or even high stakes) and the solution is simple but clever and teaches a very small lesson. Although my book is intended for an older audience, Nate the Great reminded me that the best children’s literature is enjoyable for all ages.
Then I read one of the Kinetic City Super Crew series by Chuck Harwood. These seem to be very popular but I found Bowled Over; The Case of the Gravity Goof-Up to be disappointingly uninteresting. The books try to teach science as part of the story but it’s very obvious that there’s teaching going on. The plot should have been interesting, but since it just seemed like a vehicle for science instruction and wasn’t character driven, it wasn’t interesting at all. I thought this would be approximately the length of my story, but it’s not. The last pages are explanation, puzzles, and other filler. There’s less story than you’re expecting by about 25%. I wouldn’t read another of these and I’m surprised that children like them.