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Friday, January 8, 2010

Field Trip Mysteries (Children's Books)


The Teacher Who Forgot Too Much
by Steve Brezenoff

Summary:
Cat is going on a field trip with her science class to the Recycling Plant. Only when Cat and her class get there, some of the machines have started not working. When more machines stop working, things start being a bit fishy. Was it really their class bully who threw a tennis ball into one of the machines, or is there something bigger going on here? Cat and her friends are determined to find out what is really behind stopping the recycling plant from working and it may just involve their teacher's faulty memory.

Review:
I am in love with these books. They're such fun mysteries that really spell out what is going on for the kids reading them. The extra goodies at the back of the book include more information about the topic of recycling as well as relevant vocabulary definitions, discussion questions, and writing prompts. Also, the illustrations in these books are just fantastic. Really appealing and well-done. Gives the reader something to really visualize.

Recommended for 2nd Grade and up.


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The Village that Almost Vanished
by Steve Brezenoff

Summary:
Sam and her classmates are off to Scrub Brush, a historical village, for the weekend. When they arrive there, someone tells them this is possibly the last time anyone will spend time there - it's going to be shut down. The question is, who is trying to shut Scrub Brush down? Will Sam and her friends find the culprit and reveal him in time?

Review:
Another great mystery for the four students to figure out. I love the changing main character in each of these short mystery books. It makes it easy to just pick up one and not have to read them in order. I think we all get a little sick of series that you have to read in order. Again, this mystery is broken down into a basic format that will really make sense to readers. I love the extra goodies after the actual chapter book - including more information about the Wild West, detective vocabulary words, writing prompts, and discussion questions. This is a great resource for students and teachers alike.

Recommended for 2nd Grade and up.


Buy it on Amazon*
Find it on Goodreads
Find it on LibraryThing
Find it on Shelfari



Check out my reviews for the two other books in the series:
The Painting that Wasn't There
The Zoo With the Empty Cage



*If you buy this book on Amazon through the link above, I will receive a small portion of the sales.
**Copies of these books were provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

6 comments:

  1. My best suggestion: Beforehand, figure out exactly what age you are writing for. While you are writing your book, do the research about what type of vocabulary kids that age will and will not understand. So many children's books fail, in my opinion, simply because the author didn't take the time to figure out who he/she was writing for.

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  2. These sound like a good addition to the growing array of eco-fiction for kids. I like the Seldovia Sam early chapter books, too.

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  3. I am going to check out The Village that Almost Vanished. I too like the idea of picking a book up and being able to follow along in the middle of the series instead of having to read the entire series. Excellent.

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  4. These sound great! My son would love them and we really enjoy stone arch books! Thanks.

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  5. These sound great! I might have to look into them for my younger brother!

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  6. Thanks so much for reviewing the four Field Trip Mystery titles, and for your kind words! This series is a joy to work on, so I'm glad you've enjoyed it and found it right for the intended readers.

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