Key Hunters#01: The Mysterious Moonstone [Paperback] [Jan 01, 2017] Books Wagon

Key Hunters #1

by Eric Luper

update

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Chapter Books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Juvenile

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2016

Reviews

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS!

Such a quick and fun read! When I picked this up I thought it was Middle-Grade but I think it might be barely up there, the text was huge and the story-telling, though fun and quick, was very simplistic like an "I Can Read" level book. But it was still a good read. If you or your children like mysteries, magic, and quirky characters, definitely pick this one up. :)

- Richard

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great premise for a series. It was a fun read. I think I enjoyed it more than my son did since I've actually read The Moonstone. Though familiarity with Collins' novel is not required to appreciate this, I do think the cast of characters is rather a lot for young readers not used to keeping track of English titles and such. That said, I think Luper did an excellent job making the work accessible for young detectives and did a good job capturing the period setting while featuring to very modern protagonists.

[Ricky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book for a 3rd grader.

[Lily Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an ESL (English as a Second Language) learner I think this book is suitable for ESL learners in grades 6-8. The book is not too easy and it’s not too difficult. It’s nice to read because it’s interesting and funny. The chapters are pretty short and there are new words that you can learn easily. There are many characters so I recommend writing a short list of the characters and things that will make you remember them so you don’t get confused. The mystery in the book was very interesting, it wasn’t predictable and it was very fun to try to solve the mystery.

If you like adventures and mysteries, this is the book for you!

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new adventure / time travel series. Easy to read, solve-it mystery for young elementary. Straightforward narrative with clues, reminiscent of Magic Treehouse or Secrets of Droon. Adorable illustrations throughout.

[anika]

even months after reading this, every time i think about this book and this author i want to go back and give it one star... but i shall remain strong.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and exciting chapter book about kids who get sucked into a book and need to resolve the story so they can get a special key and get out. My 3rd grader read it by himself and really liked it, then I read it aloud to him so he could understand more of the content that he didn’t quite get the first time through (like the word “colonel”!). It says 2nd-4th grade reading level, but I think it might have to be a fairly advanced 2nd grader to be able to read it. It’s nice to have something younger than typical “middle grade” books for kids in 3rd-4th grade who want an interesting story but need an easier reading level.

Fun series and I think he’ll keep reading it!

[Sofia Araya · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4th grader and I enjoyed reading this together! A fun introduction to mysteries! Some things would have gone over her head, but since we read it together it was a fun opportunity to discuss mystery classics and literature terminology!

[Colin]

It was good.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great elementary aged mystery! I did this as a read aloud and my 1st grader was so very into it. My 4th grader was also pulled in and we paused at each chapter to review clues and guess who did it. It was a great family activity and only took a few days to read through.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a bit thin on the development and unraveling of the mystery, but a nice introduction to mysteries for young readers. And the book is nicely paced to keep the action and suspense moving from chapter to chapter.

[Aria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was interesting and fun to read, and I also like it when we guess the answers and sometimes we get it wrong or maybe right.

[Sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it to know what it is about since my 4th graders will be reading it in their reading group.
I found it pretty boring but it did have an ok idea for the plot.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you have found this note, I am trapped somewhere between the covers of these enchanted books."

Ms. Hilliard, the sweet librarian, disappears and is replaced by the highly unpopular and completely unfriendly Mrs. Crowley. Cleo and Evan, who spend a lot of time in the library, can't help but notice that Mrs. Crowley seems to be searching for a specific book in the back of the library. Then, they hear a sliding sound and Mrs. Crowley is gone.

Cleo is ready to take action to find out what's going on. "Every second you waste thinking about something is a second you miss doing something." With the help of Evan, they figure out the clue that helps them find a secret room. Within that room they find a letter from Ms. Hilliard with a cryptic message: "To find me, travel through these stories and help give each one the ending it deserves."

What stories? Where to start? It appears that a book entitled The Case of the Mysterious Moonstone has the answer. When they open that book, they find themselves sucked into the story where they meet one of the main characters, Detective Artie Baker. He proves to be a bit inept and needs the help of Cleo and Evan to solve the mystery. Is that how Cleo and Evan will be able to get back to their world?

A great mystery for students just starting to enter the world of chapter books. It was highly recommended by one of my third grade students, which is why I read it.

[Kathy Maggiacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love mysteries and this series is similar to magic tree house but a bit higher level. I love the concept of a magical library hidden under the school where people can actually enter the books. They then become characters and need to complete the adventure to get out of the book. I like the characters Evan and Cleo. Of course they and trying to also find their librarian while the new mean librarian is out to "stop" them. (Not yet sure about her) I liked all the clues the reader is given and some red herrings. It's a fun book.

[Alina Karapandzich · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent mystery chapter book series for kids! Definitely one that you have to read in order though, it appears. There are some black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout. Would be a good series for third grade and up. Lots of mystery and adventure and it really does mimic a classic mystery style narrative like Clue and Scooby Do.

[GC Annison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Description
Stumbling upon a secret library, two friends are sucked into a book and thrown headlong into a perilous adventure.

Cleo and Evan have to sit out recess in the library, when their librarian disappears moments after speaking with them, they go to investigate. But the magical library they find brings more questions than answers, as they discover notes from a past librarian who also disappeared, and are literally pulled into the story of a book. Can they solve a mystery to get home? And if they even can, will they find any answers when they get back?

Disclosure
I borrowed this book for free from our library system, it was provided for my personal use. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.

Review – Spoiler Free
I feel like books marketed to this age range tend to give way too much away, or drop in lots of humor for the adults, that kids totally don’t understand and end up getting confused by or asking questions about. Why does there need to be humor for the adult reader? If it’s a good book, shouldn’t it just naturally pull the adult reader along anyways?

I didn’t get any of that with this book – I hadn’t solved the mystery early on, and most things that a kid might not know are explained casually in text. (My favorite of which is when one character is confused about what a Red Herring is, assuming it is a fish, and another character explains it in a line that isn’t clunky and doesn’t mess with the story line. This example also makes me wonder if subsequent books will point out other story devises in similar ways, which I’d be pumped for.

Some other fun things are: good character development with hints at more depth coming in later books, and a full page image in every chapter.

One of my favorite things was that Evan and Cleo actually did something – they didn’t just get whisked off to some adventure and stumble through, flying by the seat of their pants without actually doing anything. No, they were involved in the adventure in intentional, thoughtful ways, and had a big part in how everything turned out. It’s a short, fast read and Luper was able to comfortably fit a meaningful plot in there.

This is advertised as appealing to 3rd and 4th graders, but I would totally read this to a 3 year old who is excited to listen to books. It’s also advertised as 3rd grade reading level – I have no experience with this yet, so I can’t add opinion to that. It could leasily be compared to Magic Treehouse books with comprehension and reading ability.

I have very little complaints about this book. There is some teasing, but it is just playful banter between good friends. There was also one spot where I mixed up two minor characters, but it was easy to get them straightened back out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it! I plan to read the rest of the series, and if they’re all this good, we’ll most likely be buying the set.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{My thoughts} – Cleo and Evan must be some extra special children. They are in the library avoiding recess when all the sudden they hear a noise and then their new school librarian disappears. The old librarian had also vanished under odd circumstances. The two of them go to where they last heard the new librarian make noise and start investigating. Low and behold they find a secret entrance into a huge librarian hidden under their school library.

Evan seems to really love books, he is always reading something or another, so when they find this extra special library he wants to open the books and see whats hidden within the pages. However, he can’t because they all seem to be locked and he doesn’t have a key to open them.

The children start to look around and they find a book cart that looks like it belonged to the first librarian that went missing. With it they find a note that appears to have been left just for them to find. They decide they will go check out the only book that is left open on the table and as soon as they do they are transported into the story of the book. This is where it gets fun, they end up becoming assistants to a young detective that hasn’t really got a clue about how to properly solve a crime. They decide to help him and soon learn that they need to solve the crime if they have any chance of getting back to their time.

Are the two of them able to put the pieces together and figure out what happened to the missing moonstone? Are they able to help the young detective close his case? Are they able to find their way through the story and back to their own time? The only way to find that out is to read the book.

I highly recommend this book for any young reader that enjoys reading about adventures that can transport you to another place and time. These kind of books tend to be the best when it comes to pulling the reader into the story. How often have you as a reader, read a book and wished you were a character in it? The children in this book actually get to see what it is like to be a character in the book they were looking at and that helps to open up the readers mind to a new world of possibilities. Imagination is an incredible thing and it definitely shouldn’t be wasted.

[Ellen Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome! The "Key Hunters: Getting lost in a good book has never been this dangerous!" You bet! And they get lost in books, like seriously in. I love the way the author describes how:

"Letters burst from the pages of the book like a thousand crazy spiders. They tumbled in the air around them and began to spell words. The words became sentences, the sentences paragraphs. Before long, they could barely see, and then everything went black." And then the characters suddenly find themselves in a completely different world/time/era/place.

In this book, they end up in London, England in the nineteenth century. And it was all very characteristically described, making it a very fun read.

I did not like the "thin man wearing a silk top hat". And, "He had the shiniest fingernails Evan had ever seen." I say, you must always be wary of people with extremely shiny nails. They're slippery, and cannot be trusted.

To me, this book seemed like a computer game, where you find clues (letters from Ms. Hilliard), and then something to take you to the next level (the key). I found it very interesting and enjoyable.

This sentence, spoken by the prospective bridegroom to his bride, "Were you never planning to marry me, my fluffy monkey?" made me double up with laughter. It was just so funny!

I hope I can read more adventures with the Key Hunters.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up for two reasons: it is one of the selections for the 2019-2020 Iowa Children's Choice Awards and it is a mystery. I love mysteries!

Cleo and Evan are the main characters in this detective offering that will have readers making inferences and tracking clues as they read. The book has a Lexile Measure of 610, which places it in the 3rd-grade reading range. The guided reading level for this book is Q. Readers will enjoy the quick-paced adventure - and the tension of discovering whether or not this duo succeeds in giving the story the ending it deserves to avoid being trapped in the book. As the story comes to a close, readers, parents, and teachers alike will be relieved to know that this is the first book in a series and there will be more adventures to tag along with as Cleo and Evan move through further titles.

As someone who works with gifted and talented students (primarily in grades 3-5), I would consider starting the year with this as a book 3rd-graders could read independently. It would make a great read-aloud for younger students, as well, and may attract high-achieving readers in the 2nd-grade range.

The Mysterious Moonstone

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little middle-elementary read, but I tend to like my stories a little more complex. I like that the story follows kids who fall into books (think The Land of Stories series, but for a younger audience and with some mystery thrown in) and that there are lots of great vocabulary words defined throughout the book. The mystery itself is a little cheesy and solved super quickly, but it's got a fun, classic whodunit feel. While overall I think the series is too young for many of my middle schoolers, I think it would appeal to fans of Scooby-Doo and/or Sherlock Holmes, as well as struggling/reluctant readers.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evan and Cleo discover a secret library below their school, and learn that their school librarian is trapped inside. They must enter the book, help set the plot right, and find hidden keys to help them save their favorite librarian. The first book finds them in a mystery, helping a young detective find a lost diamond. They are also being stalked by their substitute librarian, who is very shady.

I really enjoyed this! The mystery was pretty solid for a short chapter book, interesting characters, plot twists, some humor, some "danger". I kind of want to read the whole series and find out what happened to the school librarian...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this aloud with my 3rd grader and he seemed to enjoy it but I didn't really care for it. The first chapter of the book opens too abruptly, with very little background information or build up. There wasn't even the tiniest bit of emotional connection to the characters whatsoever, so I didn't really care much about them, nor do I have any desire to find out what happens in the next book. The mystery itself was so-so, and did keep my 9-year-old interested considering it was one of the first mysteries he'd ever read (though he had trouble keeping track of who's-who), but it did just not seem very fresh or unique to me at all.

[Rebecca Cecil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book with my girls this past week. Very good kids mystery. The kids Cleo and Owen find themselves in the library at their school but the librarian they had last year had disappeared mysteriously and the end of last school and now they have a new librarian 's. Crowley she is creepy. They here something they go check it out ??? But they can not find Ms. Crowley. They begin to look through the books. All the sudden the bookcase turns around into another room they're stairs they start down the stairs the bookcase close. Now they are in a huge old library. There is a huge Brown book on a table..... then the mystery begins.

[Grilled Toast · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I thought that some parts were a little too detailed and maybe just over saturated but I know it’s a kids book so that’s probably how they meant for it to be. I enjoyed it as reading it but I don’t think I will pick up the other books in the series because it was just meh but I mean again it’s a kids book so I don’t know what I was expecting out of this. If you want to quick read this might be good for you it’s a mystery it’s kind of predictable but simple quick read.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super fun middle grade novel. The two main characters are a boy and a girl, one Black and one white. He’s the studious well-behaved one and she’s the one to throw caution to the wind. They work well together. I read it aloud to my 3rd graders and they regularly asked me to read more anytime I’d put it down. At the end they wanted me to read more of the series (I won’t but I did recommend they check them out from the library).

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book. It is a good introduction to the mystery genre for young kids. I wish they had developed the characters more though. Being he first book In the series you would hope that they would give you a little backstory or at least some physical descriptions of the main characters. But sadly it did not.

[Darron Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is about two kids who go on crazy adventure's trying to find different key's. Also to find some answers & the truth on why there original librarian is missing. They will go to great heights to find the truth. They'll face all challenges that come their way such as sharks, cliffs, dinasours, witches or fire breathing dragons nothing will stand in their way to bring back their librarian.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great first book in a mystery series for students in grades 1-3. I read this aloud to my first grader and he loved it. The reading level is likely too high for the average first grader to read independently, but it would make a great choice for an average second grader to read independently, or an early in the year third grader.

[Nicole Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute mystery! I can see fans of the Magic Tree House series liking this series! Evan and Cleo were fun friends and while I figured out the mystery super early, I’m sure younger readers will have fun trying to pick out the clues and solve it with the main characters! Quick, entertaining read & a fun jump start to the series!