Detective Blue

PreS-Gr 2—Nursery-rhyme characters take on new, but somewhat familiar, roles in this comic-book-style mystery featuring the dedicated flatfoot formerly known as Little Boy Blue. After a typical day starting with cleaning the dish and spoon and making sure Mary's lamb doesn't get into school, Detective Blue is approached by a panicked Jack Sprat reporting that Miss Muffet is missing. In panels full of funny details and spoken asides, the gumshoe interviews various denizens of the rhyme scene to track down his quarry. The mystery is solved when a spider reports that Miss Muffet hates curds and whey and went looking for some tasty porridge. Blue finds Miss Goldilocks Muffet fleeing the three bears' cottage, resulting in a celebratory and satisfying conclusion. Referencing more than 20 nursery rhymes, the madcap mystery will keep children—and adults—intrigued with tiny tips that point the detective and readers in the right direction. The bright, full-color art was created using pencil sketches and Photoshop. Arnold's typical scribbly and big-eyed characters are a perfect match for the "film joie de vivre" atmosphere (the book is rightly dedicated to Stan Freberg) and even older kids will be unable to resist revisiting favorite rhymes from their childhood. A good bet for most collections.—Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI

Little Boy Blue is trying to keep a handle on crime in Storytown. He tracks down the Dish and the Spoon, nabs Mary's little lamb--but where is Miss Muffet? In this Mother Goose takeoff, one iconic character after another advises and distracts Detective Blue. Comic-strip panels illustrate the investigation, with Arnold's goggle-eyed characters alert to the quest and the humor.