What do you think?
Rate this book
Mac B., Kid Spy #5
The Sound of Danger
Mac B. is on a secret mission to retrieve a stolen, priceless piece of history in this totally true kid spy adventure from New York Times bestselling author, Mac Barnett!
England is in trouble! A priceless violin has been stolen, and there's only one person who can help: Mac B., kid spy. Mac's adventure takes him on a top-secret museum night watch, zip-lining in Italy with his trusty corgi sidekick, and on an undercover mission in the heart of enemy territory. But when he ends up as a captured prisoner, is the mission lost for good?
Catch the latest hilarious adventure in the New York Times bestselling Mac B., Kid Spy books! Mike Lowery's signature illustrations appear on every page and historical facts are woven throughout, along with intrigue, history, hilarity and more. Discover this TOTALLY TRUE, wholly original, and side-splittingly funny kid spy action-packed adventure, from the wildly talented author Mac Barnett.
England is in trouble! A priceless violin has been stolen, and there's only one person who can help: Mac B., kid spy. Mac's adventure takes him on a top-secret museum night watch, zip-lining in Italy with his trusty corgi sidekick, and on an undercover mission in the heart of enemy territory. But when he ends up as a captured prisoner, is the mission lost for good?
Catch the latest hilarious adventure in the New York Times bestselling Mac B., Kid Spy books! Mike Lowery's signature illustrations appear on every page and historical facts are woven throughout, along with intrigue, history, hilarity and more. Discover this TOTALLY TRUE, wholly original, and side-splittingly funny kid spy action-packed adventure, from the wildly talented author Mac Barnett.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2020
142 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Mac Barnett
92 books1,330 followersBorn to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac Barnett now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
December 31, 2020
Mac is back on the job for the Queen of England with Freddy the Corgi at his side. He even gets assigned a spy number like a proper special agent. This adventure is filled with extreme violence. Oops! Not really. Extreme violins! As in, the five most famous Strad in the world. The blue-jeans clad KGB man has them and he is on a mission to deliver them to the best musicians in the world. No, not the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. You have to think like a Russian. It is the Red Army Choir. Add into the mix the game of Tetris and its famous tune, the New Kids on the Block and their late 80's hit 'The Right Stuff' and you have an entertaining spy tale that appeals across generations.
January 4, 2021
I didn't think this plot was as good as previous ones in the series. However I adore this series. My kid and I love to read them aloud together using voices etc. My kid doesn't watch the clock when reading these. A definite win.
September 8, 2024
I really like this whole series about Mac Barnett that Could or could not be true I really don't know.
November 27, 2020
Hilarious. As a child of the 80s, there are aspects of these stories that delight me even more than my son. The inclusion of the New Kids on the Block and Mac's walkman definitely took me back to my own childhood.
October 8, 2020
I LOVE this series. A new one is an instant purchase for my son. We both think they're hilarious and I love doing the Queen's accent when reading aloud. (My Russian accent for the KGB Man definitely needs work!) The illustrations are awesome too. They're a great bridge between juvenile fiction and graphic novels with exciting "kid spy" plots.
January 24, 2022
This book came out on my birthday!
“Awesome!!!”- DC
“Awesome!!!”- DC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2022
hysterical children's book about the KGB, Tetris, the Queen, and NKOTB. Look it up if you don't believe me.
February 20, 2022
This book is about a boy who called Mac who is a fan of JAMES BOND who is actually the spy of the queen of England.
In the beginning of the book, while Mac is worried about "MAD MINUTE（A worksheet with sixty math problem)" he get a called from the queen of England which has a top secret mission for Mac. So Mac need to come to London receive this top secret mission.
As the book continues, the Queen of UK told him the mission-protect the Stradivarius violins which is in London. This kind of violin is very expensive (which can sold about 16 million dollars), so a lot of people want to steal this kind of violins. The reason why those violin is very expensive is it has amazing tone. To protect the violins, Mac need to stay with the violin without sleeping whole night.
While Agent One (Mac) is protecting the violin. A mummy come out from the coffin! Agent one thought it's the real mummy so he hid. But after the mummy take the violin away Mac realize that it's just a thief with toilet paper. But it's too late. The thief already escapes.
In the end of the story, they catch the thief and they figure out that this is the thief of USSR. The entire events is a conspiracy.
After I finished the book, I think The Sound Of Danger is a narrative pulls me along like a runaway train. It's the mixture of exciting and ridiculous.
In the beginning of the book, while Mac is worried about "MAD MINUTE（A worksheet with sixty math problem)" he get a called from the queen of England which has a top secret mission for Mac. So Mac need to come to London receive this top secret mission.
As the book continues, the Queen of UK told him the mission-protect the Stradivarius violins which is in London. This kind of violin is very expensive (which can sold about 16 million dollars), so a lot of people want to steal this kind of violins. The reason why those violin is very expensive is it has amazing tone. To protect the violins, Mac need to stay with the violin without sleeping whole night.
While Agent One (Mac) is protecting the violin. A mummy come out from the coffin! Agent one thought it's the real mummy so he hid. But after the mummy take the violin away Mac realize that it's just a thief with toilet paper. But it's too late. The thief already escapes.
In the end of the story, they catch the thief and they figure out that this is the thief of USSR. The entire events is a conspiracy.
After I finished the book, I think The Sound Of Danger is a narrative pulls me along like a runaway train. It's the mixture of exciting and ridiculous.
June 19, 2021
I've enjoyed reading these out loud so much, and the bonus is that these books are both funny and highly educational. I was able to teach my child so much about 80s history and music!
On Stradivarius violins:
"Each violin has its own personality," said the Queen.
"Like the New Kids on the Block?" I said.
"The what who on the where?" said the Queen of England.
"They're a boy band," I said. "Derek Lafoy says the New Kids are really lame. And he makes fun of anyone who likes them. And I guess I see his point, but they sing that 'The Right Stuff' song and it's actually pretty good!"
(That's true. You can look it up.)
"Why would violins be like a boy band?" asked the Queen.
"Each one has a different personality," I said. "The nice one, the cute one, the shy one, the older brother, and the bad boy."
"Ah," said the Queen. "Then yes, exactly like the New Kids on the Block."
On Stradivarius violins:
"Each violin has its own personality," said the Queen.
"Like the New Kids on the Block?" I said.
"The what who on the where?" said the Queen of England.
"They're a boy band," I said. "Derek Lafoy says the New Kids are really lame. And he makes fun of anyone who likes them. And I guess I see his point, but they sing that 'The Right Stuff' song and it's actually pretty good!"
(That's true. You can look it up.)
"Why would violins be like a boy band?" asked the Queen.
"Each one has a different personality," I said. "The nice one, the cute one, the shy one, the older brother, and the bad boy."
"Ah," said the Queen. "Then yes, exactly like the New Kids on the Block."
January 28, 2025
Got my department's approval to teach the first book and so glad I did. The students loved his humor and high jinks. I liked the 80's references. The spy kid is at it again and travels to Italy and Russia to solve another theft. The usual characters appear like the Queen of England and his trusty sidekick, and the KGB spy. Some kids used invisible ink to write some of their writing assignments during the first book as they got into the spirit of the book. Finally got to reading the last two in the fun series.
December 10, 2022
I read this with my 8 year old son. He was in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid rut, and I think this series might be just the ticket to getting him to try something different! He loves it. The style of writing initially was hard for me as an adult reader to get into, but the pictures and short chapters made for a reluctant-reader-friendly format. I am predisposed to enjoy any book with a late 1980s setting, so the book earned big points for that.
July 31, 2024
In "The Sound of Danger," Mac B. faces new perils involving sound waves and a dastardly villain. The story is filled with excitement and inventive scenarios, though it doesn't quite capture the same magic as the earlier books in the series.
The cover is appealing, and the plot offers plenty of action and humor. However, the narrative feels a bit scattered at times, and the story doesn't flow as smoothly as in previous installments. Despite this, Mac's adventures remain enjoyable, and the book provides a good mix of fun and suspense for young readers.
The cover is appealing, and the plot offers plenty of action and humor. However, the narrative feels a bit scattered at times, and the story doesn't flow as smoothly as in previous installments. Despite this, Mac's adventures remain enjoyable, and the book provides a good mix of fun and suspense for young readers.
February 27, 2021
I really got a kick out of some of the 80s nostalgia in this installment of Mac. B Spy Kid. It also lead us to a YouTube search for videos of Stradivarius violins being played. So there is additional educational value to these books that I appreciate. I joked that this took us from google NKOTB videos to classical violin music so that's quite impressive range!
August 25, 2021
Read aloud with the boys. We all love this series. The illustrations are great, the plots are exciting, and they are laugh out loud funny. We have many inside jokes based on these books. I love the 80's nostalgia, the funny dialogue, and the outrageous action scenes.
I changed it to a 5 star book. The Tetris theme song plot element was just so clever.
I changed it to a 5 star book. The Tetris theme song plot element was just so clever.
October 12, 2022
Continuing my way through listening to all the Mac B books, this one is another hit. Again, I can't get enough of Mac Barnett's reading of his KGB man. And Mac saying hmmmm.... and the Queen saying "my majesty". This one has a wonderful added bonus of having the Tetris theme song (which I love) being integral to the story. An amusing delight.
June 27, 2024
Unfortunately, this one was perceived amongst the gang as the slowest moving/least interesting of the series thus far. I think it was written way more for the parent (that grew up in 80s) in this case (so much emphasis on Tetris and New Kids on the Block), that it ended up negatively impacting the story and adventure.
September 29, 2020
I was going to give this 4 stars because Freddie the Corgi didn’t make an appearance until page 81. But the plot point of Russia using the Tetris song as their Trojan horse to infiltrate the minds of American children as a Cold War tactic was just too good. So I re-added the fifth star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2021
The KGB man is back with his most nefarious plot yet, but Mac (newly dubbed Agent One) is here to stop it! Sort of. Ish. Containing Tetris, toilet paper and fun historical facts, this latest installment in the series is sure to delight both old and new fans of Mac B, Kid Spy.
May 31, 2021
This is the 5th Mac B book I read. I like them because even though he lives in California, he gets to travel around the world to solve mysteries. In every book he goes to England which is cool! I can't wait to read the 6th book!
December 26, 2021
I thought this book was hilarious and a good time…
Gabe was amazed by how short the chapters were. I kept trying to get him more engaged with this book so we could hopefully kick Alvin Ho to the curb. This was one of the funnest books we’ve read together all year.
Gabe was amazed by how short the chapters were. I kept trying to get him more engaged with this book so we could hopefully kick Alvin Ho to the curb. This was one of the funnest books we’ve read together all year.
February 10, 2021
Love this series.
April 17, 2021
My 7 year old and I love reading these books together.
May 8, 2021
Because I am a music lover and because I like the Tetris theme music, I really enjoyed this book!
The Stradivarius violins 🎻 were a great plot point!
Bravo to Mac Barnett for more creative artistry!
The Stradivarius violins 🎻 were a great plot point!
Bravo to Mac Barnett for more creative artistry!
August 6, 2021
Ben and I are both still enjoying these. Looking forward to the next one.
July 28, 2022
Super livre je.la j lu 5 fois
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2022
A fairly good book with many good interests and has a mission from the queen of England to get the two 🎻 .
October 14, 2022
Rounded up from 4.5, but so fabulous!
January 8, 2023
I liked the nods/mentions of Tetris, Game boy, Say Anything Boom Box scene and NKOTB🤣
April 10, 2023
This one is my favorite.
September 5, 2023
Library copy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews