Something Queer in the Cafeteria

Something Queer #10

by Elizabeth Levy, Mordicai Gerstein (Illustrator)

Jill and Gwen are falsely accused of sabotage when there are strange goings-on in the school's newly renovated cafeteria, and they must expose the true culprit

Genres: Mystery, Picture Books, Childrens, Dogs

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Elizabeth Levy has been writing and publishing books for over thirty years and sometimes now she meets kids whose parents read her books when they were children! She has written over 80 books, a number that continues to surprise her, as it surprises her how long she's been at it.

Over the years they've printed lots of her books - over five million of them.

She loves to try writing different types of books - everything from funny mysteries to novels about kids who get in trouble to history.

One of the most pleasant surprises about writing is that she's been invited to travel all over the country and even the world speaking to children, teachers, and librarians. She's made some wonderful friendships and gotten lots of ideas for her books. One of the most special treats is that kids have drawn wonderful pictures of one of her favorite characters, Fletcher.

She grew up in Buffalo, New York, then went to Brown University, where she majored in history. When she graduated, she came to New York City and worked for ABC-TV and then for Senator Robert Kennedy. She has lived in New York ever since, and she loves it. She knows all the best places for salami, she has run four marathons, and she has completed many 5-borough bike tours, so she thinks she really knows this place well.

At certain times of the year, she can be found out at Shea Stadium watching her team, the New York Mets. She has always loved baseball.

Mostly she enjoys hanging out with her friends. They spend lots of time going to movies or plays, playing sports, having meals together.

When she's alone and not writing, she is usually reading. She reads mysteries a lot, always has, which is probably why many of her books are mysteries.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still loved this book, but something that I couldn't put my finger on was different. Could it be a full range of color? I don't know it lacked the magic somehow.

I still love how the girls put together the clues. I felt like I knew where the story was going, and smiled when I turned out to be right. At least I can figure out picture book mysteries.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnt tofu dogs and soggy pizza! What could be worse than that? Gwen and Jill are on the case when they're accused of sabotaging the new cafeteria at school.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story in the Something Queer Mysteries series by Elizabeth Levy. It's a fun hybrid between a graphic novel and a chapter book. It has lots of illustrations and short chapters and is a fairly quick read.

I thought the mystery was engaging and our girls were a little surprised by the ending. We enjoyed reading this book together and we will look for more of the books in this series at our local library.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gwen and Jill (girl sleuths) figure something is amiss because whenever they go into the cafeteria something breaks on them! They scramble to solve the mystery of what's going on, even while they are being framed for all the problems in the cafeteria! A fun little mystery.

Cute illustrations.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books in this series were pretty much my favorites as a child. I recently came across them again, and, surprisingly they have lost little of their charm! Plus, there is a new spin off series which may appeal even more to today's young readers.

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why the tofu dogs would be proof that the oven isn't working right, as opposed to someone cooking them too long or on too high of heat, but oh well... if I were a contractor who did shoddy work, I wouldn't stick around after the job was done.

[Kate Vastola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this... passionately.

[Alycia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved these books and was so glad to see this one in the library. Highly recommend to anyone trying to figure out the mystery of mystery meat.