Who Stole the Wizard of Oz? (1981)

A great early chapter book to get the young reader engaged in reading. The pace of the book keeps moving and there are many opportunities to stop and discuss the events. ( )

Story Elements, Drawing Conclusions

Becky and her twin brother Toby work to solve the mystery of who stole rare books from the Checkertown Library book sale. Becky is wrongfully accused of stealing the book by the librarian, Mrs. Brattle because she was asking for one of the titles, The Wizard of Oz, the day prior to the sale. She and Toby are determined to free her name in the theft so they set on a mission to find the real thief. They find that actually five books have been stolen, all donated by the same owner, and that each book contains a clue or a map to solving the crime. Black and white pencil illustrations are sprinkled throughout the text, but don’t really add to the story. It is fun to follow the twins as they unravel clues in the mystery, leaving the reader with a list of suspects from which to draw. The heavy dialogue leaves little room for character development, but the focus of the story is more on the mystery than the characters themselves. Upper elementary school readers will find this an easy and fun read. ( )