The Book Case (Emily Lime Mystery) - Hardcover

Dave Shelton is the author of Thirteen Chairs. His UK debut novel for children, A Boy And A Bear In A Boat, was shortlisted for numerous awards in the UK and won the Branford Boase Award --- an award given to an outstanding children's or young adult novel by a first-time writer. He's also the creator of the UK comic strip "Good Dog, Bad Dog." He lives in Cambridge, England, with his family.

Gr 4-6-There are strange and ridiculous goings-on at an extremely odd and wacky 1950s British girls' boarding school. Daphne discovers this even before her arrival when she's asked to return a lurid hard-boiled detective novel to the school by a train conductor. While there is indeed a mystery at the heart of this tale, the author muddies the plot development in favor of world-building, done through entertaining scenes featuring goofy but clichéd characters. For example, the titular Emily Lime turns out to be an unlikable, holier-than-thou library helper, replete with "wonky" glasses and a beret, who gets outraged at the thought of people mishandling books. All characters are white and British. Chapters cover one or two simple scenes with a good balance of dialogue, description, and action, and are liberally illustrated with cartoonish ink drawings of the characters, usually in poses suggesting the extreme emotions vividly conveyed the text. VERDICT This over-the-top story may tickle the funny bone of fans of Andy Griffiths's "Treehouse" series.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DCα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.