Mystery: Three Times Lucky

-

Three Times Lucky (Mo & Dale Series #1)

Three Times Lucky (Mo & Dale Mysteries) by Sheila Turnage. Penguin Young Readers Group, Dec 2013. 336 pages, $17.99, 9780142426050.

    Mo is a mystery. Colonel found Mo drifting downstream on a makeshift raft during a hurricane. Colonel and Miss Lana decide to raise her. Overall, life in the southern town of Tupelo Landing is pretty good. Then everything gets turned upside down by unexplained events. A detective comes to town to investigate a robbery, a person murdered a local figure, and Dale becomes a suspect. Colonel and Miss Lana are also missing. The murderer kidnapped them! Plus, Plainclothes Phil is stalking the children. It is up to Mo and her friend Dale to get to the bottom of things. They must solve the murder and rescue her guardians before it is too late. 

    Three Times Lucky is the first book in the series, so the author does not reveal everything at     once. The characters are still shrouded in mystery. The Colonel lost his memory before he found baby Mo in the hurricane. His past is still unknown by the end of the story. As for Mo, she sends letters in the bottle to her “Upstream Mother" throughout the story. She hopes her biological mother will find her. However, Mo discovers that she does not need to know who her biological mother is. She has a family in Tupelo Landing who love her dearly, and she loves them back. 

    Three Times Lucky is a well-paced story that naturally moves the plot from the characters, the murder, the kidnapping, and the tense rescue efforts. Twists are bound to keep readers glued to the page. Although the plot is interesting, readers will also be interested in the setting, characters, and humor. The town is charming and crazy. There are murders, race cars, and drunken bouts. There are fascinating foods and quirky Southern people with hilarious personalities. For example, Miss Lana is a free spirit who runs a cafe. She has many wigs with a Hollywood glamor aesthetic to match. In this town, secrets are everyone's business. However, all the townspeople love Mo and Dale and are willing to help when possible.

    This book is perfect for children who love quirky, funny mysteries. Readers can join the colorful characters as they figure things out. This book has commentary on murder, abuse, and abandonment, but it is also about love, friendship, and loveable characters in a small town. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Graphic Novel: Babymouse: Queen of the World, The Cardboard Kingdom, Amulet: The Stonekeeper

-
Image
  Babymouse #1: Queen of the World, Jennifer Holm. Random House Children’s Books, Dec 2005. 96 pages, $12.99, 9780375832291.     Children will understand the plot of Babymouse #1: Queen of the World. Babymouse wants to be popular. She wants to hang out with the queen of the school, Felicia Furrypaws, and get an invitation to Felicia’s party. Although she receives an invitation, she might miss the monster movie marathon with Wilson, her best friend. When she goes to the sleepover, she is bored, does not fit in, and does not share common interests with the popular crowd. In the end, Babymouse learns to be true to herself and values her friendship with Wilson.       The text and illustrations work well together. The text has simple dialogue, enough words to convey a message, and provides an easy-to-digest narrative. Simple line drawings against a white, black, and pink background make up the illustrations. They add to the text by setting the frame, environment, behavior, and emotions. Th
Read more

Poetry: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

-
Image
  Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, written by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth, illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Candlewick, March 2017. 56 pages, $16.99, 9780763680947.     Out of Wonder is written by Kwane Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth. In the preface, Kwame Alexander explains his love for books and poetry. Alexander, Colderley, and Wentworth want to introduce and celebrate twenty poets who inspired them with their words and lives. Essentially, this trio of authors will offer tribute and gratitude to twenty poets by adopting the poet’s style and expanding on their ideas. There were only two requirements for choosing a poet: “First, they had to be interesting people, and second, we had to be passionately in love with their poetry.” The trio also hopes that their poetry can connect to readers and inspire others to write their poetry, as well.       The Table of Contents lists a preface, three topical groupings called “Got Style?, In Y
Read more

Beginning/Transitional Books: We are Growing!, The Cat on the Mat is Flat, Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters

-
Image
We are Growing!, Mo Willems. Hyperion Books for Children, Sept 2016. 64 pages, $9.99, 9781484726358.          We are Growing! is part of the Elephant & Piggie series. T he story begins with Elephant and Piggie introducing a book on watching grass grow. Readers can follow along with Elephant and Piggie as they learn about Walt and his grass friends. These blades of grass grow a unique characteristic that makes them “something-est”. Some of his friends are the tallest, crunchiest, curliest, or silliest. However, Walt is left wondering what his “something-est” is. When the lawn mower comes around to cut them down to the same size, they all realize they can be similar while still being the “-est” at something. This enjoyable book is for children trying to figure out their individuality within a group. There is always something special about them.       We are Growing! is a Level 1 book. The narrative has a large, bold 17-20 point type, at most four words per line, three-six words per
Read more