The Case of the Purloined Professor

The Tails of Frederick and Ishbu #2

by Judy Cox, Omar Rayyan (Illustrator)

Frederick and Ishbu live in Miss Dove’s classroom, where they learn―and eat―to their hearts’ content. But one fateful evening Natasha arrives with disturbing her father, a famous professor and scientist, has gone missing! For the second time in their lives, the rats embark on a worldwide journey. They travel the globe to save their friend and meet such colorful characters as a secret clan of badgers, two vicious rat terriers, and a stuffy English show mouse. It’s another whirlwind adventure they’ll never forget!

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Author of children's books

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to pick this one up. The whole idea of a books about rats just didn't sound very promising. But I was wrong. I quickly found myself caught up in the adventure, and so will elementary readers. Frederick and Ishbu are likely classroom rats who once again find themselves drawn into world travel, a mystery, and life-and-death struggles against The Big Cheese, a opossum bent on world conquest. Yes, it's a sequel, but I didn't read the first and still enjoyed it. The book's large type make it read much faster than the page length appear, so don't let the thick appearance daunt your children! Fast action and short chapters make this a good choice for reading aloud, but there are several international characters, so brush up on your accents, especially Russian and Scottish. I'd love to hear this on audiobook with a talented narrator tackling all those accents!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute mystery book with talking rats and badgers and other animals. I found the story fast moving and the characters entertaining. Granted I wouldn't recommend this to people who don't like children's stories but this is PERFECT for the age group it's meant for. I loved the way that Cox intertwines geography, and history and culture without making it feel like you're teaching the kids.

It was a fun story and I'd gladly read the other books in this series as I know there will be more. Besides who can pass up talking badgers from Scotland!

[Terry]

This would be a good book to read out loud with younger children. With the different places, kids could learn about San Francisco's Chinatown, Scotland, and the Matterhorn; and the European characters can help introduce children to new concepts and ways of life.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was an adventurous inspiring story. It was about how Frederick and Isbu(the rats) are all comfortable at home in Mrs. Dove's 5th grade classroom pet cage. How do they get out for adventure you wonder? Their mouse friends help them by nibbling on the door. Inspiring because of it's reality,(and suprising parts of the book). I think it was nice experience!

[Steph S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty cute. I don't know is I will read the others, but it was a fast read. It reminded me of Redwall series.