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A review by lilyn_g
Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong by Adan Jimenez, Drewscape, A.J. Low, Felicia Low-Jimenez
4.0
I decided to check out this book from Netgalley because the seven-year-old is in a robots phase. There’s not exactly a plethora of those books to find, so I was delighted to see this. Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom of Katong is a pretty good kids mystery, all things considered. It teaches kids simple problem solving techniques. There wasn’t much of a mystery involved, but it’s perfect for beginning chapter readers who fancy themselves mini-sleuths .
I liked the smart-mouthed Watson, and the way he interacted with Sherlock. Some of his lines will probably sail over younger kids heads, but older kids and parents will appreciate them. On the other hand, parents need to be careful here. The other characters’ (robot included) teasing about Sam’s weight and eating habits is a bit bullying. It’s fine to read it in a book (to an extent), but impressionable kids might think its okay to do.
Overall, it’s a fun, simple story with non-white characters that is a great introduction into mystery/detective stories for young readers. The teasing is a bit much, but with discretion its fine. My seven-year-old had no problem telling me that saying that stuff to people in ‘real life’ was not appropriate, even if it was funny to read. We look forward to reading more in this series together.
For this and other kids books reviews, as well as many science fiction and horror reviews, please visit Sci-Fi & Scary.
I liked the smart-mouthed Watson, and the way he interacted with Sherlock. Some of his lines will probably sail over younger kids heads, but older kids and parents will appreciate them. On the other hand, parents need to be careful here. The other characters’ (robot included) teasing about Sam’s weight and eating habits is a bit bullying. It’s fine to read it in a book (to an extent), but impressionable kids might think its okay to do.
Overall, it’s a fun, simple story with non-white characters that is a great introduction into mystery/detective stories for young readers. The teasing is a bit much, but with discretion its fine. My seven-year-old had no problem telling me that saying that stuff to people in ‘real life’ was not appropriate, even if it was funny to read. We look forward to reading more in this series together.
For this and other kids books reviews, as well as many science fiction and horror reviews, please visit Sci-Fi & Scary.