The first in the children's series about Swedish crime-solver and Chief Editor, Agaton Sax, is still quite entertaining and not too dated, though it was first published in 1950. It's not as sophisticated as current children's novels, since, for example, our hero "develops" special skills on the spot - he reveals that he's a proficient ventriloquist the very second it comes in handy. He isn't perfect at what he does, though, and he gets discovered by the bad guys several times, which is quite endearing - a too clever little man from a hole-in-the-ground Swedish town would be too much. Classic Swedish character, which holds up surprisingly well after some 60 years. ( )