Gail Herman

Playground equipment keeps disappearing from the park so Clifford and his pals employ detective techniques like stakeouts, tailing, and eavesdropping to figure out what's happening.

It's a fairly innocuous children's mystery, but my edition at least (the second printing) has an unfortunate coloring error that whitewashes a Black character, Mrs. Young, from the TV episode from which this is adapted. This adaptation also seems to unnecessarily tweak some other details from the show for no good show more reason but is mostly faithful.

FOR REFERENCE:

Adapted by Gail Herman from the television script "The Doggy Detectives" [a/k/a "The Doggie Detectives"] by Larry Swerdlove for the Clifford the Big Red Dog PBS Kids animated series, Season 2, Episode 10, May 16, 2002. (Available to stream on Amazon as Season 5, Episode 10.) show less

I read this children's biography to my son. I actually knew very little about Davy Crockett (who as we learn in the biography preferred to be called David) so it was interesting to read a book that focused on the facts of his life rather than the legend. We learned that he was a man who moved around quite a bit on the Western frontier of Tennessee, enjoyed hunting bears, served in U.S. Congress, and died fighting at the Alamo. It was all very interesting although the book does soft-pedal the show more severity of his involvement with "Indian removal," slavery, and the anti-Mexican prejudice of the Texas liberation fight. On the other hand, it doesn't ignore these issues. So we're presented with a story of a complex man who's life may be more interesting than the folk tales he inspired. show less

A chance discovery of a mysterious map leads the gang on an adventure following it. Unfortunately, they encounter a scary ghost en route to what they hope will be a treasure. Shaggy's and Scooby's fears are offset when they run for cover in a nearby building, which happens to be a pizzeria.

This book reads very much like an episode of Scooby Doo, which is great if you like the show. The plot is in line with a typical episode in that a supernatural occurrence is later unmasked as a very human show more action; you can basically hear the cartoon's characters in the dialogue spoken here, such as Shaggy's famous "Like," beginning a sentence; and the illustrations match the original animation quite well.

The down side is that even while this is billed as an early reader, it might be a bit difficult for beginning readers to decipher some of Scooby's misspeak (e.g., "rook" for "look") or the more unusual expressions that the gang are known for using, such as zoinks!" Also, if you read aloud, it can be tricky to try and replicate the right voices for these well-known characters.

This particular title is a disappointing one because I feel the mystery is unnecessarily convoluted and poorly plotted. The book is designed for young children, so the mystery should be kept relatively simple, especially so beginning readers aren't getting completely lost as they try to read on their own.

Despite the plot pitfalls, the children I read this aloud to all enjoyed it. One toddler in particular kept asking to hear it so many times that I eventually told him it was his turn to read it! He happily sat down and turned the pages, talking aloud about pizzas and ghosts as he looked over the illustrations. show less

This is an excellent introduction for young readers to a topic many adults are uncomfortable with even when talking among themselves. Herman is able to present a good overview of the Holocaust without minimalizing it for elementary age children.
This book includes photos but none that should be unsettling to her audience.
I have been impressed with this series for young readers (and for adults who do not read English well) from the first book I read (George Washington) and highly recommend it. show more I would give this seven stars if it was possible. show less