Senor Parrot's Perch

How to Be a Detective

By Barbara Mitchelhill

Illustrated by Tony Ross

How to Be a Detective, by Barbara Mitchelhill, and illustrated by Tony Ross, is one of a series Mitchelhill has written about Damien Drooth Supersleuth. Damien is quite the amateur detective. and he has built up quite a reputation in his town as an outstanding amateur sleuth. He’s a confident fellow, conceited, even. If you’re familiar with Nate the Great, he will remind you a bit of him. Written for slightly more advanced readers than Nate the Great, How to Be a Detective has more action and more humor.

When Damien opens a school for detectives he immediately has a long line kids waiting to get in. After a few short words of introduction to identifying criminals, he leads his class into the fray. They head downtown and begin to search for criminals. Watch out! If you have a beard, or maybe close-set eyes, these crime hunting kids will be onto your trail.

And in How to Be a Detective, they do find a tail! Er, a trail! at the local dog show. The whole gang gets involved solving this one and Damien’s students are ready, maybe even more than Damien is.

I’m happy to know that Damien Drooth Supersleuth is a series. I’ve already several more. This is a terrific book for grades 2-5 and could easily become a favorite. I know that my older daughter would have loved this book when she was younger. She consumed every mystery and detective book she could get her hands on, even attempting books much beyond her reading ability at the time.

Barbara Mitchelhill has a website where she talks about her life, career as a teacher and writer, and tells us about all her books.

For a couple years now we’ve been reading King Cat, written and illustrated by Tracy Gallup, to the kids at night. Its a frequent choice. Perhaps because King Cat is a bit like our own cat, sometimes a wild animal exploring and hunting the neighborhood yards and the woods out back, sometimes aloof and snooty, other times affectionate and companionable, winding himself around our legs and trailing us everywhere.

Gallup’s King Cat lives the comfy life with the Petticombs. Riding comfortably on the shoulders of Mr. Petticomb as if he were a piece of clothing, it occurs to King Cat that he might be seen. Other cats might get the wrong impression, thinking him a mere pet. Petulantly leaping from Mr. Petticomb’s shoulders, he declares himself King Cat and sets off to romp and rule in the garden … for a while, at least, until a few things change.

The illustrations excellently expand the story telling the story as much as the text written mostly in rhyming couplets. This makes it a great lap book that can be returned to many times.

We have a couple other books by Tracy Gallup from her “A Crazy Little Series” of books. Each of these unique little stories is illustrated with her curious dolls and natural objects; Shell Crazy with shells and sand and Tree Crazy with twigs, bark, seeds and roots. The girls are fixated by the fun little stories and  the amusing little characters.

Any of these would be great gifts for young kids and the books from the “A Crazy Little Series” would be excellent for some adults, as well.

Tracy Gallup’s books are published by Mackinac Island Press.