The Case of Piggy's Bank (Detective Paw of the Law

August 1, 2018
Archer (of the Urgency Emergency! series) takes on the mystery genre in her new Detective Paw of the Law series. Dream team Detective Paw (an old dog) and Patrol Officer Prickles (a young porcupine) sure love solving crime together--even when it's hard. Early one Monday morning at Big City Police Headquarters, a call interrupts Detective Paw's doughnut breakfast. Someone has robbed Piggy's Bank! With notebook, pencil, and magnifying glass in hand, Detective Paw speeds to the scene of the crime in his Vintagemobile. The first to greet Detective Paw is Patrol Officer Prickles, who uses his "electronic notepad" to present the existing evidence. Detective Paw individually interviews the bank employees and cross-checks their alibis. Since the safe isn't broken, only someone with the keys to unlock it could be the culprit. But who? Divided into four chapters, the step-by-step story logically follows the detective's thought process as readers crack the case alongside him. Though there can be up to 16 lines per page, ample leading helps give the text a spacious feel. Archer's mix of colorful full-page and spot illustrations aids in decoding more complex sentences. Her expressive, cartoony character design delightfully accentuates comedic moments. The Case of The Stolen Drumsticks, which is different in plot but identical in formula, publishes simultaneously.A serviceable introduction to sleuthing for more fluent readers who are almost ready for early chapter books. (Early reader/mystery. 5-7)

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November 1, 2018
Detective Paw of the Law: The Case of the Stolen Drumsticks by Dosh Archer; illus. by the author Primary Whitman 48 pp. g 10/18 978-0-8075-1556-3 $12.99 Each of these beginning-chapter-book whodunits opens with a similar prologue that offers a hard-boiled introduction to the setting ( In the heart of Big City is Big City Police Headquarters, home to the Big City Police Force ) and the main characters (two intrepid crime fighters). There's Detective Paw, a sort of canine Hercule Poirot who relies on his smarts to solve crimes; and Patrol Officer Prickles, an action-oriented porcupine who employs all the latest police-issue crime-fighting gadgets, such as a super-powered flashlight and a Pro X Fingerprint Kit. The crimes are straightforward: a bank robbery and a theft of special drumsticks from a band member. Following the same procedural pattern, the crackerjack police officers survey the scenes, look for clues, interview persons of interest, and then confront the guilty parties. Young readers may well guess the outcomes, but in doing so they're also working each case and learning that reading is an active process. Archer's (creator of the Urgency Emergency series of early readers, rev. 1/14) texts are lively, and illustrations drop visual hints, such as one suspect sweating bullets and a smashed window showing glass on the sidewalk in what turns out to be an inside job. Clearly crime does not pay, but young children may find literary rewards in reading about these dastardly deeds. betty carter

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
In each of these lively beginning-chapter-book whodunits, Detective Paw, a Hercule Poirotesque canine, and Patrol Officer Prickles, an action-oriented porcupine employing crime-fighting gadgets, follow the same procedural pattern to solve a robbery (Bank) and a band instrument theft (Drumsticks). Given the illustrations' visual hints, young readers may well guess the straightforward outcomes, but in doing so theyre also working each case and learning that reading is an active process.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)