Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-4. Children ready for chapter books will welcome this latest adventure of private-eye Bunny Brown and her bumbling raccoon sidekick, Jack. Just when it seems Bunny has finally convinced wiggly, energetic Jack to calm down, a call comes from Mr. Riley at the music store. His trombone has been stolen and returned, stolen and returned. The description makes Jack dizzy. But it makes Bunny curious, and sure enough, she figures out what's going on. The mystery is silly, but the dialogue and situation are very funny, and the characters, as presented in both the in words and pictures, are delightful. What's even better is the clear demonstration that friends, whether animals or people, don't need to be alike to get along. --Stephanie Zvirin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Crackerjack detectives Bunny Brown, a rabbit, and Jack Jones, a raccoon, are asked to solve a case revolving around the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of a trombone from the window of Mr. Riley's music store. Bunny finds two clues at the scene: muddy paw prints and a piece of straw. She and Jack connect the evidence to a sign on Mr. Riley's door advertising a hayride with Gus and his Big Brass Boys. After taking a taxi to the farm, they notice a possum playing a trombone in the band and discover that the instrument's case says Riley's Music. He confesses that he was just borrowing the trombone because the hay wagon rolled over his, and Bunny suggests that he give trombone lessons at Mr. Riley's store to earn the money needed to buy a new instrument. With lots of quips between the two main characters, this story is sure to amuse younger children who listen to it read aloud and older readers who enjoy it alone. Rylant's quick pace and brief chapters make it a page-turner. Karas feeds the fun by putting lots of visual humor into his colorful cartoons, which were created using acrylic, gouache, and pencil. A fun romp for fans of humorous whodunits who are just becoming confident with chapter books.-Karen Land, Greenport Public School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Bunny Brown and Jack Jones, the two soft-boiled detectives introduced last year in the High-Rise Private Eyes series (rev. 9/00), return to solve yet another mystery, this time with a twist straight out of Lawrence Kohlberg's moral dilemma files. Their newest employer, Mr. Riley, proprietor of the local music store, reports an unusual case. Every night someone snatches a trombone out of his display window, and every morning the instrument is mysteriously back in its rightful place. The only clues are a piece of straw and a clump of mud left at the scene of the crime. Bunny and Jack go undercover to a local hayride and soon identify the hapless felon, Freddy, the tragic trombonist who plays for Gus's Big Brass Boys on the hay wagon. ""He told them how the hay wagon had rolled over his own trombone. How he needed to play music to support his mother. How he had to sneak into Mr. Riley's store and borrow atrombone."" Bunny and Jack suggest appropriate restitution: Freddy should give lessons at Mr. Riley's store in order to pay for the trombone he sorely needs. The two sleuths are becoming progressively more playful as Rylant continues their light-hearted bickering and highlights their personality differences. Karas's illustrations support both the reading of the words and the tone of the text, particularly in his depiction of Jack as an urban cowboy dining on beans, doing the two-step, and shouting ""Yee-ha"" at the local hayride. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bunny Brown and Jack Jones, ace detectives, join forces again to solve their third easy-reader mystery in this snappy new series from Newbery Medalist Rylant, author of the beloved Henry and Mudge books. Bunny the bunny is the practical brains of the detective duo, and Jack the raccoon is her humorous sidekick, who is even funnier in this book than in the previous volumes, The Case of the Missing Monkey (not reviewed) and The Case of the Climbing Cat (2000). In this case, Bunny and Jack solve the chronic disappearance (and reappearance) of a trombone from a neighborhood music store. The puzzling possum of the title, Freddy, has been repeatedly "borrowing" the trombone so he can play at hayride entertainments with Gus's Big Brass Boys. Bunny and Jack nab him red-handed, and Bunny offers the practical solution of paying for the trombone by giving lessons at the music store. The combination easy-reader, easy-mystery follows the established format of a few clues, a mild neighborhood mystery, and lots of clever puns and jokes that will delight the intended audience. The humor is exactly on track for the early elementary grades, including a squashed marshmallow on Jack's seat and a quick rush to the bathroom following some dizzying explanations by the music-store owner (just the sort of jokes first graders adore). Karas's engaging illustrations in acrylic, gouache, and pencil help create unique personalities for Bunny and Jack. It's no mystery why this series is successful, and this endearing duo seems destined to crack many more cases of minor mischief in their urban neighborhood. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
