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The Ghost and Max Monroe #1
The Magic Box
In this first title in the detective fiction series by L. M. Falcone, ten-year-old Max Monroe is intrigued to discover that the carriage house behind his grandpa's home was once the office of the Monroe Detective Agency. Then he learns the agency had belonged to his grandpa's dead brother, Larry. But Max didn't know he had a great-uncle. ?Well, he's dead,? says Grandpa Harry, ?but his ghost still haunts the detective agency.? It seems Uncle Larry died of a broken heart because he ?never solved one measly case.? However, a surprise phone call from a magician named Marty the Magnificent with an offer of a detective job seems like the second chance Larry has been begging for. Except, Larry is a ghost --- he can't work a case in the real world. But Max can! With Larry's help, of course.
The offbeat idea of a boy detective with a ghost as a sidekick provides this story with lots of opportunities for inside jokes and misunderstandings. This is a terrific chapter book series for newly independent readers who are ready for something more challenging than a first reader, with simple sentences, humorous dialogue and very short chapters, designed to make the reading experience less daunting. The limited black-and-white illustrations (around one per chapter) by Kim Smith provide details that enrich the story. The series provides a great introduction to the mystery genre, perfect for honing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
The offbeat idea of a boy detective with a ghost as a sidekick provides this story with lots of opportunities for inside jokes and misunderstandings. This is a terrific chapter book series for newly independent readers who are ready for something more challenging than a first reader, with simple sentences, humorous dialogue and very short chapters, designed to make the reading experience less daunting. The limited black-and-white illustrations (around one per chapter) by Kim Smith provide details that enrich the story. The series provides a great introduction to the mystery genre, perfect for honing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
88 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2014
About the author
Lucy Falcone
9 books14 followersLucy Falcone (aka L.M. Falcone) is a former children's television writer for such series as The Littlest Hobo and Nickelodeon's hugely popular, Are You Afraid of the Dark? She turned her hand to writing a number of award-winning novels and a junior-fiction detective series. Her debut picture book, I Didn't Stand Up, won the 2019 Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Children's Literature Award.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 7, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
The Ghost and Max Monroe, Case #1: The Magic Box, is a quirky little mystery. It starts out with ten-year-old Max Monroe who discovers the Monroe Detective Agency in his grandpa’s backyard. The agency is haunted by Uncle Larry, his grandpa’s dead brother and former detective. When a case shows up about a missing girl, the ghost of Uncle Larry, and Max, team up to save the day. They head over to the birthday party of the missing girl, and try to find her, talking to possible suspects and finding out what happened to make her dissapear.
The story moved quickly – too quickly. Sometimes I couldn’t follow, and heck, if I can’t, then there’s no way a child can keep up. It hopped from here to there, and the chapter titles were annoying too. They didn’t look different enough from the regular font, and they predicted what would happen next, taking away some of the suspense.
The illustrations were a nice addition though. They looked nice as well, so the art definitely isn’t the issue here.
The characters were flat – uncle Larry, grandpa and Max basically all had the same personality – and the plot was too simplistic, leaving too many things unexplained. Like how the ghost only showed up now, why no one asked for him in years and why Max had never heard of him before.
All in all, not too bad, but I think the flat characters and the often too rushed pace might be a deal-breaker for some kids. A good idea for a plot though, to set up a team of a kid and a dead detective. Maybe if the next books have more character development, and slow down just a little, they’ll be more entertaining.
The Ghost and Max Monroe, Case #1: The Magic Box, is a quirky little mystery. It starts out with ten-year-old Max Monroe who discovers the Monroe Detective Agency in his grandpa’s backyard. The agency is haunted by Uncle Larry, his grandpa’s dead brother and former detective. When a case shows up about a missing girl, the ghost of Uncle Larry, and Max, team up to save the day. They head over to the birthday party of the missing girl, and try to find her, talking to possible suspects and finding out what happened to make her dissapear.
The story moved quickly – too quickly. Sometimes I couldn’t follow, and heck, if I can’t, then there’s no way a child can keep up. It hopped from here to there, and the chapter titles were annoying too. They didn’t look different enough from the regular font, and they predicted what would happen next, taking away some of the suspense.
The illustrations were a nice addition though. They looked nice as well, so the art definitely isn’t the issue here.
The characters were flat – uncle Larry, grandpa and Max basically all had the same personality – and the plot was too simplistic, leaving too many things unexplained. Like how the ghost only showed up now, why no one asked for him in years and why Max had never heard of him before.
All in all, not too bad, but I think the flat characters and the often too rushed pace might be a deal-breaker for some kids. A good idea for a plot though, to set up a team of a kid and a dead detective. Maybe if the next books have more character development, and slow down just a little, they’ll be more entertaining.
October 28, 2014
Clever, fun, and with wonderful word-play, The Ghost and Max Monroe series promises to be a big hit with little readers. It's really not easy to strike the right balance between an interesting character, an intriguing plot, and rich language appropriate for a student in grade one or two, but LM Falcone has done just that. Case #1: The Magic Box, sets the scene. Max has moved to his grandpa Harry's house for the summer, only to discover that a ghost lives in the abandoned run-down house in the lot next door. The ghost is Uncle Larry, a gentle soul, who also happened to be a detective when he walked the Earth. He was a terrible detective though, since in his life he never managed to solve a single case! Enter Max Monroe, who helps his ghostly great-uncle solve the first mystery of the summer: a vanished birthday girl, a magician, and a list of very likely (and hilarious) suspects round out the fun. Young readers will appreciate the engaging chapter-ette headings, like 'The Old Poop Never Solved One Measly Case" and 'Strange Thing to Have Under a Pillow," and the whimsical and fun drawings by Kim Smith. Rounded out with bigger type, and a "Spot the Difference" puzzle at the end of the book, young readers are sure to love this new series. I can't wait for the next book, Case #2: The Missing Zucchini!
August 26, 2014
This was a delightful children's book. The story is wonderful and is sure to keep a child reading. It's honestly the best children's book I've read in a while. Highly recommended.
I received an e-copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an e-copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
October 21, 2020
Didn’t love it. Was kind of boring.
June 4, 2014
Clever and Good-Natured, With A Decent Mystery
It seems to me that it's very hard to write an early reader chapter book that incorporates a decent mystery. Usually the trade off is that to keep sentences short and punchy and to maintain interest the author has to come up with a sort-of mystery that ends up being solved by chance, coincidence, or a timely confession or a convenient witness.
All of this is by way of getting around to the fact that here we have an accessible, engaging and reading level appropriate story that also has a fair and well built mystery. What a nice find.
Max is spending the summer with his grandfather, where he learns that his grandfather's brother is a ghost who haunts the backyard. Great Uncle Larry was a bad detective who wants to redeem himself. He teams up as ten year old Max's sidekick, and they're in the detective business. The mystery here involves a five year old girl who went in to a Magician's magical box at her birthday party and disappeared for real.
There are a number of high points here. While Max and his grandfather didn't do anything for me, Max and ghost Larry make a good team. Only Max can see Larry so in addition to their byplay you get a lot of slapstick humor from Max appearing to others to be speaking to himself when he's speaking to ghost Larry. The writing is not overly broad, and there are a few funny lines tossed off.
The mystery turns up four suspects, some real clues, some red herrings and a classic meeting-with-the-suspects-to-announce-the-perpetrator scene. Some of the clues are very clever, and unlike almost every other similar book I've read the reasoning and the deductions are sound and logical.
So, you get entertaining characters, an engaging premise, and an actual mystery that will set up an early reader for reading and enjoying classic style mysteries. That's not bad at all.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
It seems to me that it's very hard to write an early reader chapter book that incorporates a decent mystery. Usually the trade off is that to keep sentences short and punchy and to maintain interest the author has to come up with a sort-of mystery that ends up being solved by chance, coincidence, or a timely confession or a convenient witness.
All of this is by way of getting around to the fact that here we have an accessible, engaging and reading level appropriate story that also has a fair and well built mystery. What a nice find.
Max is spending the summer with his grandfather, where he learns that his grandfather's brother is a ghost who haunts the backyard. Great Uncle Larry was a bad detective who wants to redeem himself. He teams up as ten year old Max's sidekick, and they're in the detective business. The mystery here involves a five year old girl who went in to a Magician's magical box at her birthday party and disappeared for real.
There are a number of high points here. While Max and his grandfather didn't do anything for me, Max and ghost Larry make a good team. Only Max can see Larry so in addition to their byplay you get a lot of slapstick humor from Max appearing to others to be speaking to himself when he's speaking to ghost Larry. The writing is not overly broad, and there are a few funny lines tossed off.
The mystery turns up four suspects, some real clues, some red herrings and a classic meeting-with-the-suspects-to-announce-the-perpetrator scene. Some of the clues are very clever, and unlike almost every other similar book I've read the reasoning and the deductions are sound and logical.
So, you get entertaining characters, an engaging premise, and an actual mystery that will set up an early reader for reading and enjoying classic style mysteries. That's not bad at all.
Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
June 7, 2014
The Magic Box, the first in a new series of mystery chapter books starring Max Monroe and his ghost of a great-uncle, is an easy to read chapter book for young readers. The story is broken down into several chapters, and each chapter is then split into smaller sub-sections, making it easy for kids to read in short segments. Black-and-white illustrations break up the text.
I liked the concept, of a ghost who's a hopeless detective solving cases with his clever great-nephew, better than the execution. The titles of the chapter sub-sections gave away plot elements before they occurred, and they were sometimes difficult to tell apart from the text itself, as they aren't numbered or separated from the text by any extra spacing. The plot itself was a bit overly simplistic and left me with a bunch of questions:
The illustrations are a nice addition, though. They give more personality and depth to characters and events that otherwise fell a bit flat. The book's target audience, early independent readers, will probably still enjoy The Ghost and Max Monroe series, however, as it is an intriguing concept with some funny scenes and enjoyable artwork.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
I liked the concept, of a ghost who's a hopeless detective solving cases with his clever great-nephew, better than the execution. The titles of the chapter sub-sections gave away plot elements before they occurred, and they were sometimes difficult to tell apart from the text itself, as they aren't numbered or separated from the text by any extra spacing. The plot itself was a bit overly simplistic and left me with a bunch of questions:
The illustrations are a nice addition, though. They give more personality and depth to characters and events that otherwise fell a bit flat. The book's target audience, early independent readers, will probably still enjoy The Ghost and Max Monroe series, however, as it is an intriguing concept with some funny scenes and enjoyable artwork.
Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.
November 28, 2015
In the second installment of this detective series from Canada, Max is once again on the case. He and Uncle Larry, a former detective who wasn't very good at his job when he was alive and isn't much better now that he's a ghost, must figure out where the Zamboni sisters' giant zucchini has gone. After all, the local fair is right around the corner, and the sisters have a record of first place finishes to maintain. After visiting them and learning about how they nurtured the zucchini, Max and Larry begin their detective work and identify several possible suspects. Ultimately, though, it is Max's keen observational skills that allow him to pinpoint just how the thief pulled off the crime. To everyone's delight--except for the villain--the zucchini is rescued, and things proceed as normal. Although Larry doesn't do much to help Max, he provides a ghostly element of humor in the book with his antics, including eating and drinking so that onlookers see only food and beverages floating in the air. Elementary readers will enjoy this one very much.
May 19, 2015
This title is nominated for the 2016 Hackmatack award in the fiction category.
A simple, easy read for kids who are just getting into chapter books, or who need a little encouragement with the novel format. Main character Max Monroe has to go and stay with his Grandpa for awhile because his dad has to do so much travelling for work. Not too long after his arrival he meets his Great-Uncle Larry - the world's most ineffective detective. Oh, and did I mention Larry is a ghost?? Soon enough we discover that Larry on his own isn't much good, but he & Max make a good team.
The Chapters are short (3-5 pages) and there are illustrations throughout. A nice introduction to the mystery genre, with likeable and relatable characters. This is #1 in a series.
A simple, easy read for kids who are just getting into chapter books, or who need a little encouragement with the novel format. Main character Max Monroe has to go and stay with his Grandpa for awhile because his dad has to do so much travelling for work. Not too long after his arrival he meets his Great-Uncle Larry - the world's most ineffective detective. Oh, and did I mention Larry is a ghost?? Soon enough we discover that Larry on his own isn't much good, but he & Max make a good team.
The Chapters are short (3-5 pages) and there are illustrations throughout. A nice introduction to the mystery genre, with likeable and relatable characters. This is #1 in a series.
October 17, 2014
Max gets to spend some time with his grandfather while his dad is away on business. Things liven up when Max discovers he has a great-uncle that was once a wannabee detective, but now is a ghost and a wannabee detective. Together the two decide to try their hand at solving a mystery that comes their way. This leads to some silly moments as no one else can see Larry the ghost, but they aren't sure they can trust a kid. Max's instincts are good though and he is determined to find the missing birthday girl with or without Larry's help. This is a good choice for 2nd-3rd graders looking for a fun, quick mystery. It is the first in a series so it will be fun to see what happens next!
October 31, 2015
This early chapter book gives a great introduction to detective novels. When Max is sent to live with his wacky grandfather, he discovers he has a great-uncle he didn't know he had. A great uncle who was a detective. Unfortunately, Uncle Larry was not a good detective and now he's dead and no one wants to hire a ghost (especially a ghost who was not a good detective to begin with). Max volunteers to help him and they take on their first case: a disappearing kid at a birthday party.
As Max looks for clues, examines evidence, and names suspects and motives, he gives young readers a solid framework for how detective stories work, making this a great intro to the genre.
As Max looks for clues, examines evidence, and names suspects and motives, he gives young readers a solid framework for how detective stories work, making this a great intro to the genre.
June 24, 2014
The Ghost and Max Monroe, Case #1 has it all -- magic, ghosts, and even a mystery. These three components combine to create an easy chapter book perfect for young readers making the transition to chapter books. Bold words and cartoons included throughout the text create an even more appropriate read for early chapter book readers. Max's relationship with a ghost and his mystery to solve that involves magic will have readers begging for the second installment of this new series.
September 10, 2015
A beginning reader's mystery, this book's main characters are Max, his grandpa and his uncle who is a ghost. Uncle Larry is sad because he was never able to solve a detective case when he was alive. Now with the help of Max and his logical mind he gets a job to solve the mystery of a missing child. Actually Max has to do all the work since Larry is a ghost. Well written with clever dialogue, I would recommend this book to second and third grade students.
March 2, 2016
Max Monroe goes to live his grandpa Harry. Max meets Harry's brother (Max's Great Uncle) Larry. Larry is a ghost. In his past life Larry owned the Monroe Detective Agency. The phone rings for the first time in twenty years with a case for Harry. There are only two problems, Larry is a ghost and he never solved a case. Fun read for readers ready for chapter books and reluctant readers. Recommend for grades 3rd and up
June 24, 2015
The ghost and max Monroe case #1: the magic box by: L.M. Falcon is about a boy who goes to live with his uncle and while he is there becomes a detective. The cover was bright and colorful. It really didn't go along with the story, butI really enjoyed this book, I didn't understand the small chapters within the chapter it just got confusing. All in all I give this book 4 stars.
May 10, 2015
What a fun story! Perfect for the age group -- this is an ideal introduction to mysteries for young readers. Loaded with humour, red herrings and quirky characters, the Max Monroe stories are sure to be a huge hit.
February 14, 2015
A delightful book for young readers who are just dipping their toes into mysteries!
February 22, 2015
There's something to be said for the family togetherness in this first installment of a new mystery series, even if one of the key members is a ghost! Kids will find this humorous and fun.
July 8, 2015
This was my first Booktubeathon book and I really enjoyed it! :) I am excited to get to the next one in the series!
Want to Read
September 11, 2018Can I read the book I have a book fair on this book
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews