The Case of the Stolen Sixpence

The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins #1

by Holly Webb, Marion Lindsay (Illustrator)

When George, the butcher's boy, is fired for stealing coins from the till, Maisie knows in her heart he is innocent. With her little dog Eddie as the Watson to her Sherlock Holmes, Maisie uses her budding detective skills to solve the mystery of the stolen sixpence, vindicate her old friend, and even help a new friend in need. The first book in a series!

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, Historical

165 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2013

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 STARS!

This was incredibly boring and the narrator made me want to fall asleep lol I even tried to speed up the narrator's voice because she talked so damn slow but even at 2x she was still slow. Also the mystery was predictable as hell and the characters weren't as memorable or fun. I guess it just wasn't for me. :/

[Iryna Khomchuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ну ще один розділ!" — таке прохання сина під час нашого традиційного читання перед сном — висока оцінка книзі. Ось і юна детектив Мейзі Хітчінз її отримала, й цілком заслужено, бо ми навіть об заклад побилися, хто ж виявиться злодієм)) На присідання! І вгадайте-но, хто програв?)))

Серією книг про дівчинку-детектива зачитується дітвора в багатьох країнах світу. Здавалося б, що може бути спільного між британською дівчинкою, котра мешкала десь-колись сто років тому, не ходила до школи, бо мусила допомагати бабусі й працювати, а ще мріяла про геть не дівчаче заняття — розслідувати злочини, та сучасним хлопчаком, для якого оті всі стріти, кеби, посильні з магазинів, напудрені акторки й професори з опудалами тварин — геть чуже? Але вочевидь чимось зуміла Голлі Вебб зачепити малих читачів, бо переривати читання, повірте, було складно. Настільки складно, що одразу, перегорнувши останню сторінку цієї книги, ми почали читати наступну частину пригод Мейзі та її песика Едді.

[Madeleine (Top Shelf Text) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute start to a mystery series featuring a ambitious girl named Maisie, who wants desperately to be a detective. I'm a huge fan of historical mysteries in my adult reading, and I thought this Victorian mystery was so fun for middle grade readers. The mystery features some missing coins from the local butcher's shop, and Maisie works to solve it with the help of her adorable dog, Eddie. Maisie also makes friends with the delivery boy from the butcher's shop, whom I hope we see more of in subsequent installments. I'll certainly read the rest of the series so that I can recommend it to students.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Holly Webb's alternate Victorian fantasies (Rose), so when I wanted a slightly lower-level chapter book for my writing children's lit class, she's the first author I thought of. This book did not disappoint - Maisie is a heroine who is relatable and plucky while not being anachronistically so, and Webb's Victorian London has enough of the gritty Dickensian underbelly to keep the book from being twee. While Maisie does save a puppy from being deliberately drowned and finds the man who did it, she doesn't get to punish him, a nice bit of realism that nevertheless may be a bit disturbing for some younger readers. The vocabulary is a little advanced for the age group, but the mysteries are fun to solve and the promise of more books should be welcomed by burgeoning mystery fans.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read this as a bedtime book for my daughter I was really impressed. Although short it is well written with good charcters whilst being fun and enjoyable. My daughter (3) loved it so much that we had to go and get the second one ready for when we finished. Hopefully Maisie Hitchins will have many more adventures:)

[Stella_bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misterinya simple khas middle grade tapi ilustrasinya cute😍

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable book. My little girl absolutely loved it.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute, fun, quick book. I loved Maisie. She is full of spunk and has a good adventurous spirit. Also, I cannot forget about Eddie. He was the best companion/sidekick that a detective could have. He did help solve his own mystery involving who attempted to drown him. Then there was the bigger mystery about who stole the money at the butcher's shop. I liked all the different ways that Maisie got into character to solve the mystery. The illustrations were great as well. They just added to the story and helped to bring it to life better. Young readers will have an enjoyable time reading this book. Maisie is kind of like the new Nancy Drew for the new generation of readers. I look forward to the next mystery.

[Stacy Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would fit much better for younger readers, as it doesn't have a wide range of descriptive vocabulary and the plot is very simple.

[Guguk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cerita anak-anak berlatar abad-kereta-kuda di Inggris XD //keterangangakbertanggungjawab

Tipe bacaan untuk anak usia 6 - 11 tahun |ʘ‿ʘ)╯ yang juga sangat kuminati XD
Hurufnya besar-besar~ (^O^)ノ

Ceritanya tentang Maisie (9 th) yang mengagumi detektif terkenal dan kepingin jadi detektif juga ^^
Dimulai dari kasus-kasus sederhana, seperti siapa yang membuang anak anjing itu. Dan siapa pencuri uang receh di toko tukang daging.
Karena receh kalo tiap hari ditilep, jatuhnya jadi kertas. Jadi perlu diamankan sejak masih receh (o^-^o) //salahtempatguk //gapapa XD

Manis dan menghibur~ ada gambarnya juga (✧∀✧) dan tiap halamannya bermotif, seperti kertas tua(?) ^^

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally choose this book because I hoped that a little girl who solved mystery would grab my children who are obsessed with scooby-doo's attention however they were unimpressed, and it was hard to keep them involved in the storyline. I may or may not try another book in the series to see if it has more of a mystery to it and will be more entertaining to them since normally first books in a series will just introduce us to the main characters and set up other books and is more of an introductory thing.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! Such a cute and fun little mystery, Maisie is delightful. I loved the setting and I especially loved all of the illustrations.
I would have liked to see something in the end that confirmed her idea [or not] about the one who was supposedly mean to the dog, was she just jumping to a conclusion too fast or not?

[Serhiy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Забагато "води", мало дедукції.
А от 8-річним дівчаткам сподобається.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story and a quick read. It was definitely written for a very young audience.

[Rachele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for 3rd grade book club

[Iraa ☘️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaah baguss enak bacanya!! One of my enjoyable reads this month, walau tokoh utamanya masih kecil tp gak kerasa nonsense krn anak umur segitu emg udh sering bantu2 pekerjaan rumah dan pada zaman itu emg gak sedikit yg udh kerja aplg klo bukan dr keluarga kelas atas.

Maisie is a curious little button yg giat nyelidikin kasus misterius krn dia penyuka hal hal berbau detektif, dia punya idola detektif bernama Gilbert Carrington dan bahkan bermimpi utk jd detektif klo udh besar (in a sense that she knew it's just a self indulged fantasy and never will be achieved in a realistic sense, but aren't we all).

Yang aku suka penyelidikan kasusnya yg walaupun simpel tp perjalanannya tetep menyenangkan dan masuk akal karna ruang lingkupnya cuma disekitar kotanya aj, tokoh-tokohnya yg baik hati tp gak kerasa mati, dan si anjing Eddie yg gemas petakilan, ilustrasinya jg manis dan ngebantu ngeliat semua tokoh dan deskripsi latar jd lebih hidup, bakal aku reread someday.

CW / child labor, animal abuse

[Roxann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a children’s mystery. What a cute book! It is the first one in the series. In 2015 the second book is to be available.

In the book the reader meets the main characters. Maisie (12 year old girl detective), Gran (Maisie grandmother who she lives with and helps out at the boarding house); and Eddie (the rescued puppy). There are many other interesting/fun characters introduced such as Professor Tobin who lives on the main floor of the boarding house.

The book is set in Victorian London at a time when children were expected to do exactly what they were told—the seen but not heard era for kids. Maisie isn’t like that. She wants to be a detective and solve mysteries and crime. In this book she has two mysteries to solve. The first is who tried to drown Eddie (her rescued puppy) in the canal inside a tied sack and who really stole money from a butcher shop. Maisie character is so charming. She is a breathe of fresh air. She is bold and adventuress.

The book is wonderful for children in grades 3-6 possibly 7th.

I highly recommend it. I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Penny McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fond of Holly Webb. This one would be a great introduction to mysteries, deduction, investigations (keeping secrets from your grandmother), wearing a disguise and all of the other wonderful things that come with good sleuthing.

Maisie finds a lost puppy (she keeps it as an assistant), solves a puzzle that had a young butcher's assistant losing his job and sorts it all out with just enough tension. She is bright and determined and learns from her mistakes so the story has enough excitement to keep you on the edge of your seat as she tries to sort things out.

Her grandmother runs a lodging house and there are a few fun characters who live there - a helpful actor and a wise professor - so it's possible to see this series running for a long time with the possibility of crimes occurring in their lives & the possibility of their assistance in future adventures. The puppy/assistant is a wonderful touch and Maisie is the kind of sleuth who makes friends easily so this is a book series that will encourage kids & families to look forward to reading again. A little tense, a puzzle to solve and a girl to cheer for.

[mg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy mystery for young readers!

This is a very cute book for early mystery readers. While short enough to not be intimidating, Webb also does a great job of making her characters interesting. (There are even a couple mysteries solved in this first installment of the series!)

Maisie Hitchins aspires to be a detective like the great Gilbert Carrington and his assistant Major Edward Lamb (read "Sherlock Holmes and Watson"). Her gran won't let her get out of her household chores to pursue such silliness, though, so she'll have to squeeze in her detecting between errands. Since Maisie and her grandmother run a boarding house, household chores are not an option. This is also a wonderful way to introduce a varied cast of characters into the plot, too.

Very cute. Great for early chapter book readers or for middle-grade readers who are not quite at grade level.

[Wrenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl finds a dog in a canal and meanwhile someone is stealing money from the butchers. Maisie must find out both mysteries. And she does!

[Лина Сакс · Rating 3 out of 5]

Вебб - это вам не Осеева.

Я всегда за то, чтобы читать детскую литературу, но есть книжки, ну вот как эта, когда ты вздыхаешь понимая, что эта книжка какая-то слишком детская. Когда вроде бы и для тех, кто думает и сопоставляет, детектив все же, и при этом для тех, кто еще не знает, что надо быть честным, добрым, дружить и все это просто так, без объяснений, без примеров, просто надо. Ну, как когда вы записываете на веру правила, а потом начинаете понимать, как применять их. Так и тут пока только правила и от этого сильно скучно читать, потому что желаешь развития, примеров, объяснений.

Нельзя просто сказать, что плохо выбрасывать животных. Нужно пояснить, что с этим действием не так. Как этого избежать, раз уж вы о самом простом и доступном. Из истории с щенком, мы легко можем впасть в умиление, но получается как-то странно, что все что мы можем - это наорать на кого-то, а он потом легко поступит так же, как и поступал. Мы просто выплеснули свою эмоцию ничем не обеспечив жизнь другим щенкам. И не заставив задуматься над поведением "негодяя".

Или про бабушку с ее правилами. Почему не научить маленького человека отвечать за свои слова на примере взрослых? То, что наша героиня подумала о том, что ей нужно отвечать за свои поступки - это хорошо. Но почему бабушка, не признала, что она не права. То есть получается можно замалчивать неправоту? Ну, если уж начали писать правила, то надо писать все, раз уж их в книге затронули.

В книжке есть интересные моменты, воспитательные, но она какая-то неполная, словно пытается ухватить все и сразу, но это не получается, а стоило бы остановится на чем-то одном и довести это действительно до самого конца. Чтобы вот вопросов не возникло, чтобы был вывод. Помните маленький рассказ про то, как папа обидел маму, мама сына, сын кошку, кошка цыпленка, а цыпленок был такой маленький, что не мог ни на ком отыграться. Мораль сей басни очень ясна и показывает поступки отличным жирненьким мяском наружу. И даже, если ребенок захочет быть самым сильным, всегда можно задать вопрос, а хочет ли он выглядеть как тот папа, который обижает слабого. Который в принципе обижает. А ведь сказка для совсем-совсем маленьких, но она насыщенная, яркая, нужная, обучающая. Вот такую детскую литературу даже перечитывать полезно.

А здесь... история ровненькая, чтобы никого не задеть. Печально и не жизненно. Ребенка на таком сложно чему-то научить, если до этого он не читал и про цыпленка и про синие листья.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twelve year-old, aspiring detective Maisie Hitchins solves her first two mysteries.

Set in pseudo-Victorian London, Maisie Hitchins dreams of becoming a famous detective like the local Sherlock Holmes look-alike Gilbert Carrington about whose exploits she reads in the newspaper. While on an errand for her grandmother who runs a boarding house, Maisie stumbles upon her first mystery when she discovers a scrawny brown and white puppy in a sack that had been thrown into the canal.

Maisie rescues the dog, adopts him, and names him Eddie after the Dr. John Watson look-alike Major Edward Lamb. Eddie then leads Maisie to her second mystery when he steals sausages from the local butcher's delivery boy George, causing her to make his acquaintance. When Maisie learns that George has been fired for allegedly stealing a sixpence from his employer, she vows to discover the real culprit.

I appreciated that Maisie bungled her schemes more often than not. It added a touch of realism without placing her in actual danger. Her grandmother’s boarding house is full of charmingly eccentric characters, which provides the opportunity for Maisie to have plausible help in this and future adventures.

There are hints of darkness (the drowning of unwanted puppies, the financial devastation caused by an illness, the constant threat of poverty, the necessity of quitting school in order to work), but everything still pretty much works out all right in the end.

This short chapter book would be excellent for newly independent readers who are fans of stories with plucky heroines, mysteries, and/or historical settings. The print version also has illustrations.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ceritanya seru, membuat kita ikut berteka-teki sampai akhir.

Petualangan penyelidikan sederhana dari Maisie, seorang gadis kecil yang ingin sekali menjadi detektif. Kebiasaannya mengamati dan membuat analisis tentang keadaan di sekitar membawanya kepada kasus-kasus untuk dipecahkan.

Meski kasusnya terbilang sederhana- pencurian dan pemecatan salah seorang teman Maisie- cara Maisie memecahkan kasuslah yang menjadikan cerita ini menarik, tegang, sekaligus membuat penasaran. Sampai akhir cerita, kita seakan diajak terlibat langsung untuk berpikir dan mencari pelaku agar kasus terpecahkan.

Lingkungan sekitar Maisie menjadi daya tarik sekaligus memiliki peran tersendiri dalam cerita. Gadis berambut keriting ini tinggal bersama neneknya di sebuah apartemen yang disewakan. Setiap hari, Maisie harus membantu sang nenek mengurus para penyewa tersebut- memasak, mencuci, sampai membersihkan kamar mereka. Meski demikian, profesi para penyewa yang berbeda-beda ikut mewarnai petualangan penyelidikan Maisie.

Terakhir, yang tak kalah menarik, karena cerita ini ditujukan untuk pra-remaja, buku "Maisie Hitchins : Kasus Pencurian Enam Sen" dilengkapi ilustrasi yang lucu. Dijamin akan menambah keasyikkanmu saat memecahkan kasus bersama Maisie.

Selamat membaca, ya!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maisie Hitchens lives in her grandmother's boarding house and dreams of being a detective like the famous, Gilbert Carrington, who lives right down the street.

She runs into her first mystery when she discovers a puppy in a burlap sack, obviously the victim of an intended drowning. She names him Eddie and brings him back to the boarding house, determined to hide him from her grandma. But things don't work out too well and Eddie charges the butcher boy's bike and steals his sausages. That leads, in a round about way, to Maisie's second mystery.

George, the butcher's boy, loses his job for being in possession of a stolen sixpence from the butcher. Maisie knows that George is innocent and is determined to not only prove him so, but to get his job back for him, as well.

A good mystery for early chapter book readers.

[Serene In Wonderland]

I was really looking forward to this as I loved the audiobook of the third in the series. Adore the illustrations and the modest dress of the era. But some things about the content of this one I didn't like for the young age group it's written for.

CONTENT:
Language: Just 'stupid' and milder words but also mentions of people using profanity without the word written.
Romance: People keep asking the MC if she's 'sweet on' the boy she's helping, which she denies. Some older girls cry over young men, one because he was 'making eyes' at another woman. A marriage proposal.
Other: Quite a bit of lying. MC encourages a boy to lie so he doesn't get in trouble. MC disguises herself (once as a boy) and does a lot of lying in her investigations. An adult lies for the MC and pulls off a big trick on the grandma which involves the MC lying too.

[Angela Gaede · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genau das Richtige für kleine und große Detektive. The Case of the Stolen Sixpence ist der erste Band der Maisie Hitchins Reihe. Wir lernen Maisie und ihr Leben kennen und folgen ihr beim Lösen zweier Fälle. Die Charaktere sind lebendig gezeichnet und teilweise herzallerliebst. Die viktorianische Zeit ist treffend und kindgerecht dargestellt. Man bekommt eine spannende und schöne Kinder-Detektiv-Geschichte.
Ich bin nicht nur ein Fan von Kinderbüchern und Detektivgeschichten, ich habe auch eine Affinität zum viktorianischen Zeitalter, wem es ebenfalls so geht, der sollte ich Maisie Hitchins genauer ansehen.

[Ocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i went to BBW event, i randomly found this book, read the synopsis and bought it. As someone who likes read children mystery books like Enid Blyton's, this book is quite interesting. I enjoyed it so much. Also this girl solve the mystery by herself which usually children solve the mystery together or at least 3 people. This book also contains so many pictures to illustrate the story. Anyway i found this story reminds me a bit of Sherlock Holmes. I imagine the Maisie's grandma house is like the house in Baker Street, Gilbert Carrington is Holmes. Nevermind it's just my random thought. This book really suitable for children especially 7-12 years perhaps.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a delightful little breath of fresh air as I read some far more heavy material. I look forward to picking up more of Maisie's adventures about London when I need to feel that sense of refreshment. Any little girl who is that much of a Gilbert Carrington (think Sherlock Holmes) wannabe is a girl I can love. This young lady feels like a cross between Enola Holmes and Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events. (But more like Enola since this takes place in London!)

[Hailey Underwood]

This story is about Maisie's big chance to prove herself when the time finally arrives when crime strikes her Victorian London neighborhood. While the grown-ups turn a blind eye to the who dunit and justice goes un-served, Maisie and her canine sidekick, Eddie, search the streets for clues to crack the case.

[KiraNi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Хотите привить любовь к детективам в книгах своим детям? Тогда эта книга для вас. Лёгкая и простая в прочтении история заставит ваших детей попросить купить им следующую часть. Сюжет, рисовка и детская психология - это всё прививает любовь к книгам.

Книге я поставила 4/5, к сожалению я вышла уже из это - детского возраста.

Удачного чтения!