Book Review: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity
by Mac Barnett
Brixton Brothers

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN-10: 1-416-97815-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-416-97815-2
Publication Date: October, 2009
List Price: $14.99

Review: Steve Brixton is a big fan of the Bailey Brothers, a series where two brothers solve crime. When he goes to the library for a boring school report he finds out that he, Steve Brixton, is a real detective and when he thinks things are strange enough, things get a whole lot stranger – especially when he finds out about a secret detective agency called the “Librarians”. So he is trying to solve a case with his friend, Dana and things get out of control. Mac Barnett starts off the Brixton Brothers series with The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity - this fun, exciting book.

When Steve Brixton is assigned to American needlework as a school project, he knows it will be a boring assignment. But when he checks out a book called The History of American Needlework strange men break in to the building and try to catch him. He soon finds out about a secret force called the “Librarians”, and is questioned why he checked out the book on needlework. He quickly realizes that they think he is a spy for Mr. E trying to steal the book and give it to him. When he goes to the police they don’t even attempt to help him. Steve figures out this is his very own case and is off finding out why Mr. E and the Librarians want his book so badly, and also to figure out the mysterious identity of Mr. E.

This book is one of the best I have read this school year. There is not any bad language and is appropriate for school. I would not recommend it for anyone below the fourth grade though. There are some scary descriptions and scary things happening throughout the book. It pains me to say that because I love the book so much. Mr. Barnett did a great job on all of the descriptions, words and everything else in the book. Another thing I really liked was that it had articles of Steve’s favorite book series that say what to do in a bad situation. One example of what to do in a bad situation is “If you are being chased and you can’t find a place to hide, get anywhere above eye level. It will be harder for the enemy to find you because they won’t really think about looking up.” Those entries taught me a lot about what to do if you are in a bad situation. Out of a 5 star rating, I would give it 5 stars because it is a great mystery for children and I loved everything about the book. I hope there are more books coming out for the Brixton Brothers series soon!!!!!

Review written by Sheila (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity for this review.

Have you read The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity? How would you rate it?