January Joker
by Ron Roy
Calendar Mysteries
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0-375-85661-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-375-85661-7
Publication Date: December, 2009
List Price: $4.99
Review: The first mystery series of the younger siblings from the A to Z Mysteries kids has just begun! In this book there are four kids, Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy. All these kids have been friends for a long time, and coincidentally so have all their older siblings. All of them are about the same age, but the author didn’t find it necessary to add the exact ages. January Joker is clearly meant for younger kids.
January Joker is about the four younger siblings of the A to Z Mystery kids, and they have gotten their first detective case. What all starts as a harmless sleepover at Bradley and Brian’s house ends up to be a clue-packed book that is quite easy to follow. This is great for the younger sleuth readers! The kids will encounter everything from glowing lights in the distance, to “aliens” in the attic. But did the kids actually see what they said they saw, or is it just a prank that someone has pulled on them? Were the kids telling the truth? You can find all this out in January Joker.
I kind of liked this book, but clearly it is intended for younger children. This is the first book in the Calendar Mysteries series and certainly not the last. Unfortunately this book fell short in a few areas. First, it didn’t have any sensory details, and lacked depth in the descriptions. Plus, the book was unrealistic, because if the kids thought they saw aliens wouldn’t they just call for their parents, not the police? I know that I wouldn’t go straight into calling the police that’s for sure. On the other hand, this book has chapters but shorter chapters which is great for the child that is just starting to tackle chapter books. So overall I believe that this would suit a younger child just fine. The best audience for January Joker is for chapter book readers under the age of 8.
Review written by Gabrielle (6th grade student).
We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of January Joker for this review.
Have you read January Joker? How would you rate it?
I'm glad to see Ron Roy start a new series. His others, the A-to-Z Mysteries and the Capital Mysteries, are a lot of fun and a great introduction for kids to mysteries (especially those featuring recurring characters). At this age, I don't think the plots necessarily need to be completely realistic since they're probably intended to be as much adventure as mystery, to capture kids' imaginations.
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