Baker Street Academy: Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Diamond

Baker Street Academy #1

by Sam Hearn

Holmes and Watson Baker Street Academy

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, School, Juvenile

176 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2018

Reviews

[Nikoleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ο νεαρός Τζον Γούατσον, που πιθανόν κάποια στιγμή στο μέλλον να γίνει γιατρός, είναι νέος μαθητής στην Ακαδημία της οδού Μπέικερ! Εκεί γνωρίζεται με τους παλαιότερους μαθητές Σέρλοκ Χολμς, Μάρθα Χάντσον, Τζειμς Μοριάρτι και φυσικά με τον σκύλο που ακούει στον όνομα Μπάσκερβιλ! Βέβαια, όπου υπάρχει ο Μοριάρτι, δεν γίνεται να συνεχιστεί για πολύ η ηρεμία και η γαλήνη! Όλα λοιπόν ξεκινούν με μία σχολική επίσκεψη στο μουσείο και καταλήγουν με μία μυστηριώδη κλοπή ενός διαμαντίου ανεκτίμητης αξίας! Ήρθε η ώρα η ατρόμητη παρέα να ανακαλύψει την αλήθεια!

Το βιβλίο είναι γραμμένο σε πολύ απλή γλώσσα, έτσι ώστε να μην δυσκολεύει τις μικρότερες ηλικίες των αναγνωστών. Το ωραιότερο χαρακτηριστικό του βιβλίου είναι η εικονογράφηση, η οποία έγινε επίσης από τον συγγραφέα Σαμ Χέρν. Παραθέτονται παντού μικρές και μεγάλες εικόνες όπως επίσης και ολοσέλιδες εικόνες σε μορφή κόμικ. Κάπου εδώ να αναφέρω και την υπέροχη βιβλιοδεσία με σκληρό εξώφυλλο.

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great mystery for younger readers.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very entertaining. A solid mystery, fun characters, and a unique format blending prose with illustrations, speech bubbles, comic panels, and pretend news reports. The format gives it a quick pace but there is definitely depth to the writing and vocabulary.

This is perfect for mystery fans transitioning into middle grade books. The mystery has a bit more bite but is not too deep; the writing has depth but the heavily illustrated format makes it less intimidating for readers.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the drawings but I wanted more from the stories.

[Anna :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun with an interesting mystery and clever Sherlock references. I loved the graphic novel style!

(but swearing was disappointing, especially in a kid's book. :/ )

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd be hard pressed to think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy reading about detective Sherlock Holmes and his ability to solve almost any case that comes his way. For those youngsters not quite ready for the real deal, this first title in what promises to be a popular series captures Sherlock as a young boy in a modern setting at Baker Street Academy. Sherlock has plenty of friends at the school, and is known for being more than a little bit different from those around him. Not only is he quick-witted and a keen observer, but he is exceptionally adept at drawing conclusions, to the delight of those around him. The story of how he solves the case of a missing diamond from a London museum is told by his new friend, John Watson, recently arrived at the new school. In case of confusion, the author has provided yearbook photographs of some of the students at the school. There's even a friendly dog named Baskerville moving in and out of various scenes. Not only was the story satisfying and most of the case credible, but the book design is creative with some pages featuring mostly white or dark space and a thought or speech balloon and some even consisting of headlines or excerpts from newspaper articles. I would certainly read the next installment of this series, which should prove to be rather addictive. Young readers may also enjoy trying to match their own wits with those of this budding detective.

[BiblioBickie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reworking Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes characters into a modern group of kids at Baker Street Academy is a fun concept. The format should appeal to Diary of a Wimpy Kid readers who are interested in mysteries, and in most cases, all the clues are available for careful readers. There are some places where the text is very small but most is in a somewhat large font.

This particular title, however, is perplexing in its treatment of colonial theft of other country's artifacts. The "bad guy," Sherlock's nemesis Moriarty, opens the dialog about the topic in a school presentation, including lines such as, "when we visit museums, we should think about who actually owns the amazing objects that we're looking at..." However, his presentation ends up being somewhat self-serving, and none of the other characters discuss the ethics of all the things listed as being in the museum where they take a class trip: "stuff from all over the world: Ancient Rome, China, the Middle East, and Ancient Greece too. There are gold Buddhas...even great big bits of old buildings." At one point, there is even a (fictitious) article about "the return of the 25 Treasures exhibition to its spiritual home," the museum in London where the kids were on a field trip. If the author did not want to address this topic sincerely, it would have been better to leave all comments about the provenance of objects out. It's really a missed opportunity.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Diamond is a good mystery for 3rd-4th grade students. Before the story begins 9 characters are introduced with black and white drawings and a few details about the students' interests and personality. The story is told through a combination graphic novel and text format. Illustrations abound and engage the reader in the action. John Watson gets accepted into the Baker Street Academy where Martha shows him around and introduces him to Sherlock and they bump into nemesis Moriarty. During a field trip to an art museum the Alpine Star, a famous jewel, is stolen and the threesome are on the case. This serves as a good introduction to Sherlock Holmes. The book includes how to draw the main characters including Baskerville, the dog.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the popularity of the infamous Sherlock Holmes, it is not surprising that a new series for pre-teens would come out. Hearn's writing is enjoyable, with both a touch of humor and suspense. This first book in the series introduces the "gang". From Sherlock, to Mycroft, Moriarty, John...they are all there. John is the new kid at Baker Street Academy and life immediately gets exciting when at a trip to the museum, he becomes part of a diamond theft. Sherlock lets him tag along on the hunt for clues and the thief. This isn't a complicated mystery but it will make the reader think and have to pay attention. This should be a great new series.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story, but I'm a Big Sherlock Holmes fan. I "got" all of the references to the original Sherlock and thought Mr. Hearn did a great job making Holmes, Watson, and Martha into modern kids. I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels and could have done without those sections. Definitely would have preferred it to be an actual chapter book. I also found the snippets from John's Blog distracting, but maybe I'm just too old. Overall a good story and worthwhile read. I'd gladly read another installment from their adventures.

[Serenity · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*

This was a fun book with a variety of formats scattered throughout. The story is narrated by John Watson, and features many familiar characters, of course most notably Sherlock Holmes. It jumped around a bit too much for my taste, but younger readers might appreciate the variety of ways you need to engage your brain to process the whole story. Lots of illustrations, too, so it will appeal to fans of illustrated novels.

[The Popular Girl - Lani lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey there, book lovers! Ever wondered what Sherlock Holmes was like as a kid? Well, this book shows us exactly that, and it's pretty awesome!This isn't your grandparents' Sherlock Holmes - this one goes to school just like you!

The story is all about John Watson (he's new at school and super nervous about it) who becomes friends with a really smart kid named Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street Academy.On their class field trip to a cool museum, something super exciting happens - a super-valuable diamond gets stolen! Instead of just having a boring old museum day, Sherlock, John, and their friend Martha end up trying to solve a real mystery!

[Shani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, quick read. I thought it was a good twist (and I mean twist) on the Sherlock Holmes stories, and reminded me of the BBC a little bit. (Also not a bad thing.) The only thing I wasn't crazy about was how it ended. It was just all of a sudden, and felt like it was a drop off. Still, I'd be interested in an further books like this.

[Boggrenen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lækre illustrationer. Fedt mix af tekster der spiller sammen. Noter, Apps, tegneserie og tekst mm. Men det fungerer godt og jeg tror det appellerer til mange børn.
Plottet er lidt åbenlyst.
Sproget er til den Svære side. Højst sandsynligt fordi den er oversat fra engelsk.
Målgruppe: dygtige læsere 10+ (mellemtrinnet)

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute take on young modern Sherlock solving a crime while at school. If you're an adult, you can catch a lot of references to Doyle's original writing and, of course, BBC's amazing SHERLOCK. Great concept, and I can't wait for more.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun intro to Sherlock Holmes, with lots of illustrations, comics, letters, and Sherlockian vocabulary. There’s even a “how to draw” section at the back. The illustrations are really fun, and the story is well-suited for middle grade mystery fans!

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very graphic oriented so the kids who like pictures, this is it. Young Sherlock is current and his classmates are very relatable too. Only Sherlock is like the Sherlock we know-witty and smart. Watson is not quite what we're used to. It's a very fast read too.

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty fun adaptation of a modern pre-teen Sherlock and the gang. I laughed at the reference to Benedict Cumberbatch and the meme of butchering his name. That was honestly the best part of this book but I will definitely be reading more of this cute series.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book takes all the Sherlock Holmes characters and turns them into middle school spies. My son and I enjoyed reading this together. This was also used for his first book report. Great memories!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun and fast-paced younger-generation SH Mystery, set at the Baker Street Academy. Liked how each of the characters is strong and well rounded

[darnfeinbookthoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars! Loved the subtle connections to the show!

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun gn-hybrid series introduces a young Sherlock Holmes with enough allusion to satisfy the adult fans who might be reading this aloud to their charges. Humorous, fast-paced and engaging.

[Bonnie Grover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery for younger readers. The Disappearing Diamond is an engaging story that includes lots references to Sherlock Holmes. I really enjoyed the artwork throughout the book.

[Eva Boktokig Boström · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://boktokig.blogspot.com/2018/02/...

[Carl V · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever take on SH stories for grade-school kids.

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherlock, John and Martha finally found the disappearing diamond💎!!!

[Arvid · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a shitty bok about a stupid boy named sherlock the book ends with no good stuff it is shit

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one that you might want to miss. It’s okay. There are some cool graphics and drawings. The book is aimed at kids but I feel like it misses the mark quite often.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

It Was Awesome 😎

[Hannah Grace]

I don't know what I was expecting from a children's book.