Encyclopedia Brown cracks the case

Gr 3-5-Encyclopedia Brown solves ten brief mysteries in this audio version of Donald Sobol's book (Dutton, 2007). Narrator Greg Steinbruner aptly tells the story of Encyclopedia's investigations of missing jewels, stolen stamps, fake historical artifacts, and more than one run-in with neighborhood bully and arch rival Bugs Meany. From helping his father, police chief of small town Idaville, solve petty crime to pursuing justice among the neighborhood kids with friend Sally Kimball, Encyclopedia always cracks the case. Each puzzle ends with a pause, giving listeners the opportunity to figure out the mystery on their own before the solution is revealed. A welcome addition to audiobook collections for school and public libraries.-April Mazza, Wayland Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Having kept Idaville crime free "for more than a year"--more like 44 years, to be precise--the still-ten-year-old Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown takes on ten more scams, misdemeanors and outright felonies. Whether dealing with the theft of various precious items (including an autographed baseball from a case that is, literally, cracked) or the efforts of high-school dropout Wilford Wiggins and ne'er-do-well bully Bugs Meany to cheat local children out of their hard-earned savings, the precocious preteen unfailingly delivers the revealing question or significant fact that forces a confession. Only readers well enough informed to know how the author of Alice in Wonderland spelled his pseudonym, or attentive enough to spot the tiny slip in a suspect's story, will keep up--all others can look to the answers in the back. That's a formula that still works after more than a generation. (art not seen) (Fiction. 8-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.