Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook

Edgar Allan and his classmates walk into their room one morning to find that their class pet has been stolen. The only clue they have is a poem written beside the empty tank. Edgar decides that he will be the one to solve the mystery and he pulls out all the stops as he tries to beat Patrick Chen to the solution. The problem is, the fish is just the first thing to go missing...if they don't solve it soon, what will be next?

Interesting mystery, but very kitschy. I think even young readers will notice how "in your face" the themes and lessons are...but maybe not. Acceptance, friendship and fairness lessons abound.

Fifth-grader Edgar Allen is surrounded by talented friends and family. When things start disappearing from his classroom and poems are left as clues, he longs to solve the mystery and show folks around him that he has a special talent too. Turns out his real talent is in recognizing the secrets and sadnesses that people carry around with them, and in bringing a smile to those people. The various poetry tie-ins make this a great story to recommend to reluctant poets who enjoyed Sharon Creech's "Love That Dog."

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-5

Plot Summary: The goldfish in Ms. Herschel's class is missing, and in it's place is a poem. Who is the thief? Edgar is determined to figure it out. He starts a crime investigation notebook and starts observing his classmates, interviewing suspects, and writing down clues. The problem is that Patrick Chen seems determined to solve the mystery first! Who will succeed? Who is the thief?

Setting: fairly small elementary school where the students know all of the teachers

Characters:
Edgar Allan - 5th grader, claims he is good at investigations but is mad at himself for always be behind Patrick
Ms. Herschel - math teacher
Patrick Chen - in Edgar's class, dad works as a forensic scientist
Destiny - was best friends with show more Maia, lonely by herself until Edgar notices and leaves her a note
Maia - was chosen as Star of the Month and asks Gabriella to do a Mexican dance with her, donated Slurpy to the class
Gabriella - Maia's new friend
Mr. Crew - LA teacher
Taz - tallest boy in Edgar's grade, class clown but does his work, loves his dog, accused of being the thief
Henri - Edgar's older brother, was invited to do a solo at a band concert
Rosy - Edgar's baby sister
Tubby and Twig - Edgar's parents, professional clowns at the children's hospital
Ms. Barrett - kindergarten teacher, gets a love note from Mr. Browning
Mr. Browning - custodian
Kip - kid in Edgar's class who is accused of being the thief

Recurring Themes: poetry, crime investigation, mystery, clowns, compassion, empathy, dogs, theft, competition, divorce, class pet, friendship, family

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: I thought this book was a little boring because it had very little character development. I fell asleep twice while reading it because it was predictable too. I did like the parents being clowns.

Genre: mystery, realistic fiction

Pacing: slow - very little character development, for a mystery it was fairly obvious to an adult reader who the thief was
Characters: not very well developed but I liked that the parents were clowns
Frame: a lot of information about poetry but it is explained, in the back there is a "Quiz" with additional questions and activities to teach the reader about poetry and famous poems and poets
Storyline:

Activity: cheer up kids at hospital; write poems with metaphors, meter and rhythm, - "What Am I?" show less

Adult Reader Reaction: I loved this book! The students in Ms. Herschel's class are authentic and the story is fun. We see the world largely through Edgar's eyes, not just at school, but at home too. The word play, references to great poets, and "revisions" of their work makes this all the more unique.

Pros: When you put it all together: mystery + humor + short chapters + rhyme and you have a story that is perfect for all readers.

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Fun story about Edgar, who is a bit of a loner. He has never been too into school and one day, when the class fish is stolen, Edgar is quickly engrossed in finding out who the thief is.