The Mystery of the Blue Ring

The Polka Dot Private Eye #1

by Patricia Reilly Giff

Emily Arrow's blue ring is missing. What could have happened to it? Dawn Bosco knows the whole class thinks she stole it, just because she borrowed Emily's unicorn once. But that was weeks ago.

With the detective kit her grandmother has given her -- a polka-dot hat and fake glasses with furry eyebrows -- Dawn rushes out to track down the crook. Can she find the thief -- and clear her name?

Genres: Childrens, Mystery

80 pages, Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

Patricia Reilly Giff was the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books, the Friends and Amigos books, and the Polka Dot Private Eye books. Several of her novels for older readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. They include The Gift of the Pirate Queen; All the Way Home; Water Street; Nory Ryan's Song, a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction; and the Newbery Honor Books Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. Lily's Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with the classroom map found in the beginning of each of the original Polk Street books, and I have another very clear memory of assigning names from Ms. Rooney's classroom to many of my Fisher-Price Little People, and then setting them up in the rows shown on the seating plan. (I used wooden blocks as their desks.) Giff's characters felt so real to me, and I spent hours creating my own scenarios, and reenacting what happens in the books. When I saw on NetGalley that Open Road Media has created an e-book version of The Mystery of the Blue Ring, I knew immediately that I wanted to read and review the book, so that I could both revisit my pleasant experiences with Polk Street School and discover how the books are holding up 20-something years later.

The Mystery of the Blue Ring was originally published in 1987 as part of the Polka Dot Private Eye series, a spin-off of the original Polk Street School books, starring Dawn Bosco. Dawn is in the same second grade class as Richard "Beast" Best, Emily Arrow and all the others, and recently, in a previous book (Fish Face, I believe), she stole Emily Arrow's beloved unicorn. (I remember this as being an especially scandalous turn of events, since I was a big Emily Arrow fan, and not so crazy about Dawn!)

Though Dawn has since returned the unicorn, and tried to make amends, Emily is still not speaking to her. When Emily's ring goes missing in this book, the class names Dawn as the most likely suspect, and Dawn decides to find the real culprit in order to clear her name and win back Emily's friendship.

What I love about Giff's writing in this book and so many of the others is the way she can so effortlessly draw me into the mind of a second grader. Dawn's concerns that her classmates will blame her for the theft, her frustration when Emily won't be her friend, and her alliance with Jason all felt so real to me, and I really rooted for Dawn to solve the mystery and clear her name. I also appreciated that the mystery probably could be solved by an especially astute reader, but that the resolution of the story also comes as a clever surprise, which only Dawn was able to figure out. The positive resolution of the girls' friendship was also a high point for me. Kids are always comforted by the knowledge that everything can turn out okay in the end.

Blanche Sims's illustrations also translate well to the e-book format. Her black and white pen and ink drawings of the characters are as charming and distinctive as I remember them, and they provide excellent support for the text, especially in terms of what the characters wear and how the move.

Another wonderful feature of this e-book is all the extra information in the back of the book. After the story there is a biography of Patricia Reilly Giff, complete with a collection of personal photos, many of which are in full color. A biography of Blanche Sims is also included. These features answer many questions that kids often have about the creators of their favorite books, making this book a wonderful addition to a classroom author study, or to a child's personal library.

I don't know a lot of kids who have e-readers just yet, but I suspect that trend will grow, and I think it's wonderful to offer kids classic, long-lasting series like the Polk Street Mysteries, to introduce them to the format. Open Road Media has done a great job in adapting this book to this new format, and I definitely recommend giving it a try.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars (rounded down) -- In this, the first of a new series, Giff returns to Ms. Rooney's room. Matthew has not moved away, and the kids of Polk Street School are up to their usual mischief. Dawn Bosco takes the lead here, and you get to know her and another classmate Jason Bazyk better. Both of them want to be detectives when they grow up, so when Emily Arrow's gold ring with the cracked blue stone goes missing, both of them investigate. Giff even manages to include a red herring or two before Dawn uses logic to solve the case. It is fun!

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a child and couldn't remember the title, for the life of me. Luckily, there's Google.

I immensely enjoyed this book and remember reading it over and over again. I absolutely loved the drawings and the way it was written, most especially, the story.

A great book for introducing your young ones to mystery!

[Bvlmc Buchanan Verplanck Elementary School · Rating 3 out of 5]

Follow the twists and turns which lead to an unexpected ending (unless you've been following the clues carefully) as Dawn Bosco looks to solve the case in this humorous mystery from Polk Street School.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too preachy

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

You guys. This book is brilliant. Writing early chapter books is an art, and I'm so pleased to discover that one of my childhood favorites is still so enjoyable.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is just not enough good children's lit at this reading level/length. This is part of a perfect series for advanced young readers.