Reviews

Crime and Puzzlement: 24 Solve-Them-Yourself Picture Mysteries by Lawrence Treat, Leslie Cabarga

wolfdreamer's review against another edition

4.0

Why the low ratings? This is a creative collection of mysteries in which the reader uses visual and textual clues to solve the mystery. I used this book with a group of high school students and their response to it was very positive. I first showed them the picture. Then, I gave them a copy of the details and read them out loud. Finally, I handed out the multiple choice questions and asked students to answer the questions based on the evidence they see and read in the clues.

I'm not sure if the poor reviews are because readers thought they book was something it wasn't or... I don't know. I do know this book makes an effective tool for teaching students how to build a case or an argument using evidence instead of opinion or speculation. The mysteries vary from challenging to simple and also provide cases that use primary sources as clues. This makes the book useful across the curriculum, as well.

bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition

3.0

I had this book as a kid and I loved it. There is no way to actually solve the mysteries without making wild assumptions, which would lead me to give it two stars. I give the book 3 stars because the pictures are fun and if you feel comfortable showing a crime scene to your students, you can have them write their own story about what they think happened (and ignore the ridiculous conclusions that the book suggests).

mythyagain's review against another edition

4.0

Although I can see these "cases" which usually consist of about a paragraph of text and an accompanying drawing being used in a classroom setting, they could also be enjoyed by both children and adults. The objective is to read the short description of the case, view the drawing IN GREAT DETAIL and then answer 5 questions about the case, thus solving it. Answers and brief explanations to each case are located in the back of the book. Challenging pictures with minute details make it interesting even for adults. Kids love it.

markfeltskog's review against another edition

This looks like a promising book for helping emergent readers achieve mastery over texts.