Frognapped

September 1, 2007
Gr 2-4-Araminta Spookie feels that she is always blamed unfairly when something goes wrong or disappears, so when the father of her friend Wanda Wizzard tells her that she had better return his troupe of five acrobatic frogs, she decides to clear her name by setting up a detective agency to solve the frognapping. Although Spookie House has ghosts and at least one vampire (Uncle Drac, who likes to knit), the only character who seems to be up to anything even faintly sinister is Old Morris, a grouchy neighbor who suddenly turns his mushroom farm into a low-budget marine park. Black-and-white illustrations of cartoonlike characters with eyes on the sides of their faces appear throughout. The solution to the mystery is obvious halfway through the book. "Frognapped", like the other "Araminta Spookie" books, seems designed for readers who like the idea of spooky things such as secret passages and ghosts, but do not want to read about anything even remotely scary. The humor is often so slight that it barely seems worth chuckling at. Purchase only if series fans are demanding more."Walter Minkel, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
Missing frogs and an annoying cousin are two disruptions Araminta is determined to solve, but her wild conspiracy theories dont always lead her in the right direction in these smoothly written Addams Familyesque detective stories. Though readers might need some familiarity with the series to follow the action, they'll enjoy the humorous juxtaposition of modern language and vintage writing.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)