Basil in Mexico

Basil of Baker Street #4

by Eve Titus, Paul Galdone

Basil, mouse and master detective seeking for the truth behind the theft of the Mousa Lisa, must also solve the mystery of his companion's disappearance

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Audiobook, Fiction, Animals, Middle Grade, Historical

Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Eve Titus was the author of numerous bestselling and beloved children's books.

Her most famous characters include Anatole, a French mouse and Basil of Baker Street, a mouse who works as a private eye. Her book, Anatole, won the 1957 Caldecott Honor Book award.

She died in 2002 in Orlando, Florida.

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basil is the Sherlock Holmes of the mouse world. He listens in on the cases of the great Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street, to learn at the feet of the master. Then Basil can use that knowledge to solve mysteries among the mice of the world. In this book, Basil and his trusty sidekick Dawson are on their way to Mexico to investigate the theft of a famous painting.

I love this story so much! I have always been a fan of the Great Mouse Detective cartoon, so I was delighted to discover that the movie was based on a book series. The writing is charming, the story is exciting, and the mystery is full of wild clues that only Basil can figure out. I also loved the adorable illustrations that bring the characters to life.

This fourth book in the series was especially wonderful, because the setting is in Central Mexico where I grew up. It was so cool to hear about the characters hiking up Mount Popocatepetl, near where I used to live.

This chapter book would be perfect for young readers ages 6-10 who are starting to read on their own, but it is also enjoyable for older children to read. I loved reading it even as an adult!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Eve Titus's characters, and when you combine her stories with Paul Galdone's illustrations - you get excellent entertainment!

Sherlock Holmes has a protege - a mouse, Basil of Baker Street. Like his human counterpart, he solves all kinds of daring mysteries that your family will enjoy. Clean, fun and makes a great read-aloud!

Ages: 5 - 12
Reading Level: 2nd/3rd grades

Cleanliness: “by Jove” “gracious” “heaven knows” “goodness” and the like are used a handful of times. Basil smokes a pipe.

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[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and fun

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. First off, I really liked the description of the Mousa Lisa. ;) Also, the mysteries were really cool—although the first mystery confused me a little. I was bugged by the dramatic wail about female rights (for mice and women)—I mean, I KNOW it was an issue in those days, okay? Can we discuss ANOTHER issue of that time, puh-leaze??? Anyways... Again, I loved Basil and how even though the book has much less of a Sherlocky feel, he parodies Sherlock again—with his Baker Street Irregulars!! XD And the ending was epic. I am super intrigued by the next story, too. ;) So yeah. In spite of its being a children’s book, I found it enjoyable.

Content: A handful of euphemisms.

A Favourite Humorous Quote: Trailed by the raggle-taggle tribe, we entered the marble lobby, and then the dining room, ignoring the raised eyebrows of the other guests.
The headwaiter looked shocked. ‘But Señor—these street muchachos are not—are not—’
‘Not welcome?’ asked Basil. ‘On the contrary—we invited them. Kindly seat us at once.’

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fun. I enjoy all the mouse connections to the human world.

[Rachel Sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was well done, the twist at the end almost got me! Looking forward to the next one.

[Lady Tea]

Rating: 5 / 5

I have to admit, this is probably the best book of the lot, thus far. It's got excitement, adventure, and not one, not two, but THREE mysteries that Basil solves! Add in a kidnapping, intrigue, and you've more or less got a thrilling adventure--in Mexico!

It's hard to review this without giving anything away for anyone who may want to read it, but I will go into slight spoiler-territory below for the things I loved, so you have been warned:

+ the art theft element
+ the president of Mexico's wife--was she Basil's equal, I wonder?
+ the kidnapping of Dr. Dawson--it was great to have things told in Basil's point of view for a change!
+ and, of course, RATIGAN! Still not as much of Ratigan as I would like, mind you, but having him team up with someone this time around was a surprising new twist, and by having his mystery be the last one that Basil solves in the book, it also felt like appropriate buildup as opposed to having him just at the beginning. After all, Ratigan's the best part, isn't he?

And so, onward to the Wild West next!

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this series is fun and entertaining, this one cleverly introduces some thoughtful concepts and facts. It has instances of compassion for the guilty, equal rights (for female mice), and thoughtfulness for those less fortunate. Performed by Ralph Lister, this series, though intended for children, can be enjoyed by all ages.

[Kate Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was super cute and enjoyable! 🤍

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one combines two mysteries. Before Basil and Dr. Dawson can set sail for Mexico (whence Basil has been summoned on a top secret mission), the great detective must solve "The Case of the Counterfeit Cheese." Professor Ratigan (who has obviously escaped justice once again) is up to his usual tricks--this time planting fake cheese made of concrete around the Mousmopolis. When the mice inevitably crunch down on the hard "cheese" and break their teeth, they are forced to go to their dentists. And Ratigan is running a protection scam to skim off the profits from the surge in mouse dental problems. Basil to the rescue! As soon as he hands the villains over to the police, he and the good doctor head to Mexico where they must get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing Mousa Lisa. Someone has painted an excellent forgery and left in the place of the famous artwork. Basil must track down the forger and find missing Mousa Lisa before word gets out that the Mexican museum has been burgled.

Another fun story. I liked that this one returned to the more mysterious plot rather than adventure. ★★★ and 1/2.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Selah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the Sherlockian references, and my kids love the story of an anthropomorphic mouse detective. Win-win

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basil and Dr.Dawson travel to Mexico to solve the disappearance of the Mousa Lisa. Following the clues the painting is soon returned to where it belongs.

[Yukiraking · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the "Cave of Cats" and I think it might be in part because of the explanation it gave in passing about Ratigan. I definitely read them out of order. I should have trusted the Goodread's series page, but the books were re-published in a specific order, so I thought that was the order they were meant to be read.

But there were definitely some characters that really stood out to me in this one, which highlighted the fact that in the last book I didn't connect with any of the new characters (almost all of which showed up again this time). I really liked Hector, and Godoy was interesting, but it was Marlane that stood out the most. I thought she was awesome. I wish there was more of her, but the book is less than a hundred pages, so I understand why there wasn't.

I'm excited to read what I assume is the series finale next (before going back and reading book 2, which I'm still bummed about, but it can't be helped).

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - I just love that there are more stories of the great mouse detective than I knew so I enjoyed this regardless of it’s shortcomings

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disney's 'The Great Mouse Detective' was always one of my favorites. When I found out it was also a children's series, I was very excited. Book 1 is being ordered from the library, so I had to start with Books 4 and 5.

This was a children's book, but it was actually quite good. Sometimes I do read children's books that have predictable story lines and simple language. This was not the case with 'Basil in Mexico'. I found that it was a worthy successor (I refer to it as successor as I had watched the movie first, regardless of the order in which these were produced) to 'The Great Mouse Detective' and the style and plot were quite befitting of a children's Sherlock Holmes.

And I love that this isn't Sherlock Holmes retold with mice. No, it is about the mouse counterparts to Sherlock, who live in the mouse world of London and under the floor of 221 B.

I love this charming book, and was not disappointed. If anything, my love for the movie has been increased.

[Stiby (María MV) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha parecido más divertido que el anterior y me he reído con algunas cosas como juegos de palabras, chistes malos (con tirada de almohada incluida) o cuando alguna frase te recuerda que los protagonistas son en realidad ratones 😂😂
También me ha parecido que no dejaban de pasar cosas! No recuerdo los anteriores con tantos casos en un solo libro.

Alguna cosilla se me escapa con el inglés, pero bueno, así también me sirve para no olvidarlo del todo!

Seguiremos próximamente la LC con Kam del siguiente de la saga!

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am six and listened to the audio version of this book. I loved the book because it was cute and a bit funny. It was cool. It was a mystery book about a mouse detective and they went to Mexico. They tried to solve the case. I think other people would like this book because it looked cool. The great mouse detective.

[Poornima (moon.reads.alot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made a mistake of picking up the 4th instalment in the series. I felt like there was an on going enemy backstory which i was missing and felt like i was reading in the middle of something. Other than that, it has a good sense of humour, love the writing method! Easy for kids to read. Probably will buy the first book to start the series

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grow to love Basil more and more with each book. He and Dawson are charming, mouse replacement's for Sherlock and Watson. The plots are sweet and accessible (for young readers). I'll finish the series!

[Tecpatl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from being culturally insensitive/offensive in some parts, it was long winded-but not in the charming, typical Sherlockian way, just in a filler-descriptive way. Not even historically accurate when describing antiquities being before "Columbus discovered America"

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bizarre sequel to the Basil series, with two shorter adventures dividing the book, with only the first half having any mystery. So many named characters come and go that it is difficult to care about any of them.

Yes it's a children's book, but there are better out there

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

4YO Daughters chapter book this week while studying Mexico.

Probably would’ve suggested for a more 8–10 age range because she kept getting lost and confused. But it was cute and a lot of great location references.

[Megan Rudek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this one was cute. It also shows and demonstrates a true friendship!

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Basil, I can't keep being blinded to the pacing being all over the place. . . I love the dedications - references to Sherlock Holmes!

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a lot!

[Spughurt Flabbernickle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Allison Gaspar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids enjoyed this one. Our first Basil.

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here we go! Finally some cohesion between plot threads in this series! And a mystery after so long!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery read of the Sherlock Holmes variety. It even mention Holmes and his Irregulars gang. I enjoy the authors cheeky settings, characters and plot. It feels very Geronimo Stilton but more mystery focused.