The Case of the Stolen Sculpture

Museum Mysteries #4

by Steve Brezenoff, Lisa K. Weber (Illustrator)

A priceless sculpture has been stolen from the Capitol City Art Museum! But with insurance money to cover the theft and build a new education wing, no one is overly worried about getting the missing art back. The only ones who seem concerned with solving the case are Clemetine and her friends. Can these determined detectives get to the bottom of the art-museum mystery before it's too late? Discussion questions, writing prompts, a glossary, and nonfiction resources continue the reader's learning experience long after this e-book ends.

Genres: Mystery, Chapter Books, Childrens

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

Steve Brezenoff is the author of the young adult novels The Absolute Value of -1 and Brooklyn, Burning, and his third, Guy In Real Life, will be released in 2014. He has also written dozens of chapter books for younger readers. Though Steve grew up in a suburb on Long Island, he now lives with his wife and their son in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Reviews

[S.A. Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat short simple mystery for older grade kids
A precious sculpture is missing from the museum and no one is interested in getting it back because of the insurance money that they get. Clementine and her friends are however determined to get the statue back.
Nice audio story mystery suitable for older kids. Liked the narration too.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series has gotten back on track! This was an excellent one. I didn't think the solution was obvious, there weren't any weird microaggressions as far as I can remember, and the mystery (a missing sculpture) was much easier for my son to understand than the vandal in the last one. He did have some trouble following their deduction, though, since the solution was a little more complex this time (and he doesn't understand what "insurance fraud" is), but it made it more enjoyable for me, so it balanced out, I suppose. There was a weird moment where Wilson calls Clementine a nickname and we're told that she doesn't like it but she chooses to let it go because Wilson is her friend, which was both an odd moment to include for no apparent reason and not really the lesson I want a kid taking away. Otherwise, this was great and I feel better about continuing with the series now.

[Karen Broughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story, i find these books delightful, a quick fun read. Just introduced my 8 year old son to this series and he's enjoying his first book from the series too. Highly reccommend.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick easy read that introduces children to the genre of mysteries. The mystery was light, not scary at all, and while the characters were interesting the actual mystery needed more substance.

[Aloha4Ever · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audiobook narration was awful with constant pauses at odd places. It detracted from the story.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a young (2-4 grade) mystery buff, this is a good book. It will be too simple for older readers. Clementine's mother works at an art museum where a statue is stolen. Clementine and her 3 friends: Raining, Wilson, and Amal, set out to solve who took the statue. Brezenoff demonstrates simple deduction but doesn't give enough clues to really solve the mystery without help. The children get away with asking grownups very personal questions and end up being smarter than the adults. Despite these problems, the teamwork between the four friends is appealing and many students will enjoy following their sleuthing adventures.