Children's Literature

This initial volume in the "Saxby Smart: Private Detective" series was first published in Great Britain in 2007 and is now reissued for young American readers with delightful illustrations by the prodigiously talented R.W. Alley. Saxby Smart is a private detective—and a student at St. Egbert's School, with an office in his parents' tool shed; he mentions his parents early on "to let you know that I've got some" and then promises not to discuss them any further. Here, Saxby solves three cases. Each one would be enough in itself for a satisfying chapter book, so it is a bonus to have this three-in-one collection. Jasmine's dad is about to lose his job because his high-tech inventions keep being leaked to their corporate rival: Is he under a curse cast by the mask he purchased in Japan? Class brain Jeremy has his sure-to-be-prize-winning essay ruined by mysterious purple goo on the eve of the Essay Contest: Is low-down rat Harry Lovecroft behind the crime or Jeremy himself? Nasty Mrs. Eileen Pither accuses her niece, Heather, of stealing her antique clasp: How could the clasp have simply disappeared into thin air? Throughout the stories, Saxby pauses frequently to pose questions to the reader, to allow us to join him in his sleuthing, and Cheshire provides just enough clues so that the reader can participate as co-detective in this thoroughly engaging and kid-like collection of cases. Saxby Smart lives up to his name, and Cheshire and Alley make an equally smart team. Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D.