Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective

Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
written by Donald Sobol



Thanks to my awesome friend Talitha for making me revisit such an amazingly influential childhood book. I know this series inspired me to read many other mystery series, like Cam Jansen, Nancy Drew, and The Boxcar Children. It's probably why I still like suspenseful mystery novels today. I remember being frustrated over not knowing the solution--well, funnily enough, rereading the book, I still rarely ever knew what the solution to the case was until I read it! I love the do-it-yourself element to the mysteries, although all the page turning always got on my nerves. It gives kids this great feeling of, hey, look, Encyclopedia can be a detective and SO CAN I! This is definitely a favorite worth introducing to your kids, so both you and they can have fun trying to solve the mysteries! If you're not a kid, still worth the revisit, see how many of the old cases you can crack now.

Rating: 5/5

Gertrude the Albino Frog and her Friend Rupert the Turtle

Gertrude the Albino Frog and her Friend Rupert the Turtle
written by Marcia Silvermetz, illustrated by Ginger Doyel



While Gertrude was a really great read, I feel like the book should come with a warning label: Read Only To Children With Attention Spans. I made the mistake of reading it to a group of kids who were ages 3-6. The 3/4 year olds really couldn't care less and would not sit still long enough. Even some of the 5 year old kids got bored. The 6 year olds (and there were only two of those) were the only ones who really seemed interested. They did enjoy the story, though, as did I. Gertrude is a great story of acceptance and tolerance, and while that point may just fly over some kids' heads, it is one that will hopefully stick in some and make them realize that it's no good to be a "bully frog". Some of the rhyming got excessive (there is one section of rhyme that lasts a page, is very rambly, and lost everyone's attention, including my own) but overall, good book, if not too wordy. The illustrations are gorgeous as well!

Rating: 4/5