Pedro's Mystery Club

Pedro #3

by Fran Manushkin, Tammie Lyon (illustrator)

With a new clubhouse in his yard, Pedro decides to start a mystery-solving club. Will he and his friends find the clues to crack the case?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2016

About the author

Fran Manushkin is the author of more than fifty books for children, including the Katie Woo series; Big Girl Panties, illustrated by Valeria Petrone; Big Sisters Are the Best, illustrated by Kirsten Richards; The Tushy Book, illustrated by Tracy Dockray; and Baby, Come Out!, illustrated by Ronald Himler and translated into eight languages. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good idea, but the story leaves out many logical connections in the story arc so that characters enter the scene without prior introduction, making reading confusing. The illustrations fail to aid these jumps. For example, Pedro's friends in the Mystery Club have disconnected dialogue in the first few pages, but do not appear in an illustration until halfway through the book. I get the impression that this may have been edited down from a much longer chapter book format. Simplifying the story to one rather than two arcs would have assisted this purpose better than choppy storytelling, and potentially more white space for illustration to assist in the storytelling.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This early reader with 3 short "chapters" while not an fair mystery is a terrific age-appropriate quest by three friends who need to find some missing items. I love the logical way the author has them try to solve the dilemma and the believable behaviors and side-tracks. Cute characters and art. Great for emerging readers. One in a series. also showcases Katie Woo as a secondary character. Jokes and book club questions in the back.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pedro, Katie, and Jojo form a mystery solving club and solve mysteries for Pedro's parents.

I like that this features very believable mysteries (missing items) and Pedro's method is solid (trace backwards). Even readers can be sleuths like Pedro and friends following this method.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pedro and his friends help his parents find their things, with each one becoming a mystery to solve. Will they find Mom's locket and Dad's new phone?

I thought this was just ok as a mystery. Pedro ends up finding both things, but both by sheer luck and coincidence.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be a good book for a struggling reader. It's quick and easy to read, so he or she wouldn't become too overwhelmed. Cute pictures and Katie Woo is in here.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

readalike for Sharmat's "Nate the Great" series

[Amanda Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this because I thought it would help me understand duo lingo better. I understood about 50% of what was going on.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I like about this book (& series):
-Pedro and Katie Woo are both in this series! Cool to see the two combine and fans of Katie Woo can jump on board with this one!
-I love the multicultural aspect of the characters.
-There are SUPER cool features at the end including a glossary, "let's talk" & "let's write" ideas, and jokes. The capstone website (which features games, etc.) is also listed in the back.
-Very bold, colorful illustrations and an awesome reading level bump it up a notch for me.

What I don't like:
-Book one is a mystery (I mean, kind of. They don't really do anything to solve it other than stumble upon the items, but ya know. It's a "mystery-ish.") but the other books in the series are not. Why start it off having appear to be in a genre that it's not actually in?
-There is NOTHING to these stories. You start them, then they're over. Kind of crazy how short they are...

I bought these for my library and they're okay for lower leveled readers that are appealing to kids, but I'm kind of disappointed that there isn't more depth to the stories.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pedro is actually a buddy of Katie Woo, and his book series evolved from hers. Like Katie Woo, Pedro lives a middle-class American sort of life that centers around school and his family and friends. Like Katie Woo, his mishaps are the gentle sort that involve having your brother turn loose the bugs Pedro had captured for a school project. Like Katie Woo, it is refreshing to see a child who from a culture different from the one the typical American children's book portrays, and to not only see him, but to see him front and center.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Katie Woo spinoff featuring an Hispanic boy named Pedro. Pedro solves the mystery oh hosting Mom's lost locket and his father's lost cell phone. Remineseant of Nate the Great.