Customer Reviews

Alexander Fox and the Amazing Mind Reader

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This short novel introduces Alexander Fox, a sixth grader with obvious natural skepticism and a desire to reach the truth through logic and critical thinking. Although others accuse Alexander of being "the boy who doesn't believe anything," Alexander points out that he always has an open mind but that "unusually strong claims require unusually strong proof."

When Arkady Mystikos comes to town and professes to have psychic abilities, Alexander is determined to figure out the truth. Alexander is an engaging young hero and one with whom young readers will easily identify. Although the didactic nature of this slim volume is apparent, the story is interesting enough to keep young readers involved, and the attractive illustrations complement the text.

This book would make a good choice for young skeptics age 8 and up, as well as all children who enjoy mystery and detective stories. Fans of Encyclopedia Brown will be sure to find this book interesting. Further adventures involving the skeptical Alexander would be most welcome as well!

When Arcady Mystikos comes to town, everyone is bowled over by his psychic powers -- except for 6th grader Alexander Fox.

Fox asks legitimate questions and looks for a more practical explanation of Arcady's feats.

This book is an outstanding introduction to using one's brain.

I am buying additional copies to send to my friends who follow and believe in the popular "psychics" of our day. Mr. Mystikos's name could very easily be replaced with any of those psychic's names.

This book is an excellent story for encouraging youngsters not to blindly accept everything at face value. Very importantly, it never crosses the line into cynicism as the young hero investigates a mind-reader who seems too good to be true. My 8-year-old daughter liked this book very much and highly recommends it.

Alexander Fox is a curious fifth grader who stands apart from his friends because he believes in thinking for himself rather than accepting claims without first exploring the evidence. Like a super sleuth investigator, Alexander sifts for clues, searches for answers, and asks plenty of questions when met with something mysterious or unbelievable, especially when a schoolmate claims to have witnessed the supernatural feats of one Arcady Mystikos.

But when he meets the great Mystikos, a man whose powers have astounded the wealthy residents of the town, Alexander realizes that he may have met his match, a case that is too tough to crack. Admiration for Mystikos among the town folk causes the youngster to examine his own beliefs: Is Alexander a close-minded person, unwilling to accept the mysteries of the unknown? Or can he show his friends that claims of the paranormal aren't always so mysterious?

Young readers ages eight and up will delight in this fascinating tale and cheer Alexander on as he tries to uncover the truth about the powers of Mr. Mystikos. Alexander Fox and the Amazing Mind Reader will start young minds on their journey toward independent thinking, open-mindedness, skeptical inquiry, and critical awareness.

As a skeptic myself, I thought this would be the right book to illustrate my viewpoint. The book did that, but my biggest concern is that Alexander Fox questioned the "psychic's" abilities, but never really exposed the wizard behind the curtain. I'm still sure the Bloodhound Gang (the 3-2-1 segment, not the "Bad Touch" band) would have did a better job, and in fact they did (in one of their installments, they figured an alleged "psychic" who correctly predicted the return of a lost pet, as Arkady Mystikos had done, had been behind the pet's disappearance in the first place). But I do enjoy the idea of a skeptical investigator, and I would like to see more of Alexander Fox in other cases in the future.

This story was entertaining and demonstrates how and why to be skeptical and not gullible as the young hero debunks a psychic with impressionable seeming abilities. My about to turn 7 year old grandson could not get enough of it and he's usually impressed with stories like Harry Potter and ghost stories. However, he seems to like those as the flights of fancy they are and is very into determining what's real and what's not for himself these days. I think he liked this story in part because it showed him how to use your brain to try to determine just that!

Very good story to demonstrate both critical thinking skills and why you should be skeptical of extraordinary claims and neither discard them or accept them without first investigating them.

My 9yr old and I really loved this book! I wish there were more like it out there. It's very similar to Encyclopedia Brown. Alexander Fox "investigates" a mind reader who is bilking the neighborhood adults.