Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop (Smashie McPerter Investigates #2)

by N Griffin (Author) Kate Hindley (Illustrator)

Who stole the featured item for the talent show? Secret codes and crazy schemes are in play as Smashie and best friend Dontel put their thinking powers to work.

When the third-graders of Room 11 learn that they all must take part in a musicale, Smashie can't wait to sing something heartfelt and loud. But the others are not so eager. Luckily, Charlene's mom has agreed to donate her special gel that lengthens and sculpts hair into shapes (from a musical note to a roller skate), and soon, with the help of some retro sixties go-go dancing, all the kids are raring to go. That is, until their jars of goop go missing! Who would steal their beloved Herr Goop, and why? Time for Smashie and her best friend, Dontel, to get out their Investigation Notebooks! Discussions of motives and perps, hasty mis-accusations and apology brownies, a math lesson used to crack a mysterious code, and more than a few choice red herrings build up to a truly hilarious madcap finale. Starring a quirky and relatable heroine, a level-headed sidekick, and an appealing group of good kids, this entertaining and lighthearted mystery may well have readers donning their own Investigator Suits.

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Kirkus

Griffin concocts a baroque plot involving a secret code credibly based on third-grade math and tells it with SAT-level vocabulary. She contextualizes that vocabulary carefully, sequencing sentences to prepare readers for it...Readers will be hoping for an equally savvy Book 3.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6—Another mystery is unfolding in Room 11 at Crumpler Elementary School, and it looks like Smashie McPerter and her best friend Dontel are back to doing what they do best, investigating. Smashie is still as vivacious and dramatic as when readers last saw her, Dontel is still his incredibly patient and mature self, and the level of mystery has finally reached a fine balance between believable and exciting. The students are working on a talent show, and one of the keys to the show keeps going missing each time it is replaced. This leads to many suspects, some plausible and some far-fetched. The story is paced well, and the plot is strong enough to intrigue a variety of readers. Unfortunately, the dialogue and the vocabulary feel more appropriate to adults than to a pair of third graders. That quibble aside, the series offers positive lessons and activities that teachers and librarians can incorporate in the classroom. VERDICT The use of mathematical codes and investigative lingo and the slight mystery will make this a good book for a beginning-of-the-year read-aloud in a third or fourth grade classroom.—Chad Lane, Tulip Grove Elementary School, MD

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

Classroom dynamics and a diverse cast add a realistic element to this fast-paced tale of go-go dancing, rapid bilingual alphabetization, and general mayhem.

Review quotes

 
N Griffin
N. GRIFFIN is the author of the Smashie McPerter series, as well as The Whole Stupid Way We Are, for which she was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author. Her other books include Just Wreck It All and Trigger. She received her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Kate Hindley is a children's book illustrator living and working in the U.K. She worked as a print designer before illustrating her first book, Claire Freedman's The Great Snortle Hunt, which was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Since then, she has illustrated a number of books, including the Smashie McPerter chapter books, The Same But Different Too by Karl Newson, and Don't Call Me Choochie Pooh! by Sean Taylor.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780763697952
Lexile Measure
600
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
September 12, 2017
Series
Smashie McPerter Investigates
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Schools
Theft
Stealing
Mystery and detective stories
Elementary schools
Talent shows
Hair preparations

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