Basil in the Wild West (Library Edition) (Volume 4)

Basil of Baker Street #5

by Eve Titus, Ralph Lister (Narrator)

Tom’s eyes bored into Basil’s. “I admire and respect you as a brilliant detective, but I must speak frankly. Your chances of capturing J.J. are practically zero. The obstacles are too many and too great. In my opinion, Basil, you’re on an impossible mission!”

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Animals, Chapter Books

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1982

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

[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!

Reading Level: 2nd/3rd grades

Cleanliness

Children's Bad Words
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 2 Incidents: By Jove!, Poppycock
Religious Profanities - 1 Incident: heavens

Religious & Supernatural - 2 Incidents: "You're like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat." - referring to Basil's knack for solving mysteries. There is something that stalks a hotel at night. Some think it's a ghost, demon or alien. It is actually a gang of mice.

Violence - None
Attitudes/Disobedience - None

Romance Related - 4 Incidents: A mouse kisses a waitress. The word "breast" is used - non-sexually. Quoting Shakespeare: "Come on, and kiss me, Kate." A bad mouse falsely courts female mice who work at a bank so he can steal money.

Conversation Topics - 1 Incident: Mentions seven million years.

Parent Takeaway
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 entertainment!

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So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (4/10 hearts). I read the other Basil books in 2020 and really enjoyed them. When I reread them this year, I didn’t quite enjoy them as much, but I left the original ratings in honour of my first reaction. This book, though, didn’t impress me as much as the others. It didn’t feel as Sherlocky as the other books, and Basil wasn’t very Sherlocky either. I also had a hard time following his deductions. Still, for a kids’ book it was enjoyable. So I don’t know. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood for this??

But hey, I loved all the ponies named after music!

[Lady Tea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 / 5

So...Basil in the "wild west" makes about as much sense as saying that Genghis Khan invaded Papua New Guinea. In other words...something's not quite right here, is it?

It reminds me a bit of serial cartoons of sorts, where you'd have the main characters of a show just end up in different locations around the world, but the adventures be pretty much the same as always, just with an ethnic flair.

This time, we kind of get the same thing, except that the narrator (Dawson) makes it clear from the get-go that Ratigan is not the villain this time around. We are introduced to a new villain in one of the mysteries, someone named JJ who claims that he's also very smart, and who apparently will team up with Ratigan in the next book or so.

Still though, without Ratigan, the author does need to give us a mystery to follow along with, and so naturally she chooses the next most famous case: an equivalent of Sherlock's "Hound of the Baskervilles".

I've...never really cared about that one as a mystery though, and hence my indifference to this book as a whole. I confess, it just went downward for me as soon as I found out that Ratigan wasn't going to be in it.

Perhaps, for others, the Hound of the Baskervilles part of it will be enough to maintain an interest.

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

Basil and his faithful friend, Dawson, are travelling from Mexico into the American West. They hear about a gang of smugglers who are stealing ancient artifacts from Mexico, smuggling them across the border disguised as ordinary souvenirs, and then selling them on the black market. A desperate hotel owner begs Basil to visit the Grand Canyon where their hotel is being terrorized by a mysterious "Thing". Basil and Dawson travel through various areas of the Wild West, helping other creatures and solving mysteries along the way.

I love this series 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 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!

[Yukiraking · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a lot of cheesy word play in this one that I just loved. I enjoyed the new characters, the bad guys were a touch one-note, but the mystery was interesting (almost reminding me of an Agatha Christie feel to the mystery and the sheer number of potential suspects). There were so many hints at another book that I started to second guess myself, and maybe "The Lost Colony" actually is a sequel to this? I'm so confused. Maybe the future plots that were hinted at were never published? I'll find out soon anyway, since it's the only one left.

But basically, this one was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it.

[Stiby (María MV) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demasiados casos y demasiadas referencias para mi gusto xd he tenido la sensación de que iban tachando casos como en una lista de la compra, no sé, le ha faltado algo.

Algunas cosas me han hecho gracia pero en general no me ha enganchado ni gustado un montón. He echado de menos a Ratigan y algo más de "investigación" propiamente dicha, como unir pistas o interrogar a gente, etc. En ese sentido los libros anteriores me gustaron más.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Some of the dialogue was hilariously cheesy (HA! Cheesy! That was cheesy.) but that's okay. Basil is an delightful character who is fun to follow around.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a really fast-paced, very enjoyable and really well-written children’s mystery adventure novel. It had really excellent illustrations, really great characters, really exciting adventure, really well done mystery, really nice humor and a very interesting story. I’m also really looking forward to read Basil’s final adventure, “Basil and the Lost Colony.” I would recommend this book to both children and adults.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basil, the great mouse detective, heads west to capture the nortorious J. J. But like his hero Sherlock Holmes and his quest to defeat the nortorious Moriarty, sometimes the fight must continue on another day. The delightful series is marvelously narrated by Ralph Lister whose various voices add much to the telling of the mystery.

[Sarah Westgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Mystery
This book would be great for grade level 2nd and up. One unique feature of this text is the pictures included in the chapters. The pictures really add detail to the story! There is also a table of contents and Cast of Characters page.

[Rebecca Dupont · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Basil books actually seemed more like two books, a mexico criminal hideout and a hotel mystery joined together by a horse trip. It made the book feel a bit disjointed. I think if it had just been the hotel case, which I found more interesting and amusing, it would have been a better book.

[Selah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entry in the series is either extremely disjointed, or bad at holding my attention. Basil solves the mystery by being a snob 😆 2.75 stars

[Hillary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book and series.

[treva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Sid's 4-star rating, for the record. :)

[Linda Marvin]

Audiobook I thought 3 of my grandsons would enjoy but there was too much fun going on for them to sit and listen. Cute story that made me chuckle often.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to shame Basil for using the so-called fact that librarians should know their Shakespeare as a clue, but as a librarian, I did indeed take a Shakespeare class in college.

[Spughurt Flabbernickle · Rating 1 out of 5]

0

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, good writing, funny, clever, liked info about places, and bookish themes, better than expected

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basil of Baker Street and The Great Mouse Detective are my CHILDHOOD, okay, so I adore them. Notably, reading them again as an adult, the Suck Fairy is almost entirely absent. They're still smart, they're still full of love, and I still love them.

This one in particular is a lot of fun. Villains teaming up! Basil putting the smack down upon people! Shakespeare games! Basil being really offended that one villain dared to pass herself off as a librarian! I just. It is close to my heart and will never not be.

[C.G.Koens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute children's book by Eve Titus. The only downside is that the ending was left open for a follow up story, but this is the last book in the series, so that's a little frustrating (for readers who like tidy endings). However, a great, easy-to-read, short chapter book for new readers, and yet another great introduction to the fantastic Sherlock Holmes of the mouse world.

[S. J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review of another Basil book for my thoughts on these "lets travel the world" stories.
My Review

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Basil.