Homer on the Case

Gr 3 Up–A literate pigeon fights crime. There are jewel thieves in the park and Homer, a homing pigeon, is a witness! With help from some friends, new and old, and a little assistance from his favorite comic detective, Homer is ready to crack this case! The setting of the story is generic: a nondescript city in a nonspecific time period. There are references to Dick Tracy and “Hints from Heloise” and illustrations of older cars, implying maybe the 1960s, but it is unclear. All of the human characters present as white. Carlos, a city pigeon, says a few simple Spanish words. The mystery itself is underwhelming and could have used more backstory. The illustrations are appealing, and the way Homer figures out how to communicate to humans is clever, but the vocabulary is sometimes too advanced for the content. Although this could be a nice introduction to raising homing pigeons, the story lacks substance.