Abstract
Reviewed by: Mystery of the Missing Luck, and: Something’s Fishy Hope Morrison Pearce, Jacqueline. Mystery of the Missing Luck; illus. by Leanne Franson. Orca, 2011. 61p. (Orca Echoes) Paper ed. ISBN 978-1-55469-396-2 $6.95 Ad Gr. 1–3 Szpirglas, Jeff. Something’s Fishy; by Jeff Szpirglas and Danielle Saint-Onge, illus. by Dave Whamond. Orca, 2011. 55p. (Orca Echoes) Paper ed. ISBN 978-1-55469-787-8 $6.95 R Gr. 1–3 These two titles from the Orca Echoes series for early chapter-book readers offer easily accessible stories for early readers. In Mystery of the Missing Luck, second-grader Sara is helping her Japanese grandmother, Obaachan, search for her missing lucky cat statue, which disappeared from their bakery shop window. Sara enlists the help of her new friend Jake, and together the pair of sleuths manages both to find the statue and drum up some much-needed business for the bakery. In Something’s Fishy, quirky second-grader Jamie takes his obsession with sharks to a whole new level when he accidentally swallows the class betta fish. His misdemeanor is discovered when he belches up fish-food odor, and Jamie realizes he must do something to make amends with his infuriated classmates. What works in each story is the [End Page 39] tightly focused plot, well supported by a manageable cast of characters. Pearce’s novel tends to grow repetitive, with speculative queries repeated over and over that do little to advance the plot. Szpirglas’ novel, though, uses humor to great effect, and the character dynamics are striking since the protagonist isn’t particularly likable—in fact, his over-the-top obsession with sharks makes him altogether annoying to his classmates. Each slim novel offers an abundance of illustrations; Franson’s somewhat busy full-page compositions are filled with shading and details whereas Whamond’s lean towards a cleaner comic style. These will fit nicely into reading programs as well as offering newly independent readers engaging options for first chapterbook reads. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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