Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery (#1) [Hardcover]

David A. Adler (Author), Barbara Newman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2004 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Bones (Book 1)

In Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery, Mr. Green has lost his school bus. "A bus is a big thing to lose," Jeffrey says. But sometimes, big things are hard to find. Maybe Mr. Green's bus was stolen. Detective Bones gets out his pad, notes the clues, and the search begins. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3–Jeffrey Bones is at the mall with his grandfather when his school bus driver asks for help. Mr. Green has lost his bus and will be in big trouble unless it can be found. By gathering clues and asking the right questions, the young sleuth is able to find the missing vehicle. Beginning readers will enjoy the mystery and the silly puns that Grandpa makes about his grandson's name. While there are not enough clues for children to solve the mystery on their own, they will be satisfied by the boy's quick answer to the puzzle (especially since it makes him look clever and the adult look a little foolish). The bright cartoons show a freckle-faced, round-cheeked youngster with a crop of brown hair. This first book in a new series for beginning readers is sure to be as popular as Cam Jansen is with the chapter-book crowd.–Lynda S. Poling, Long Beach Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. In this debut title in a proposed series, Adler adds a new character to his lineup of elementary-school detectives. Young sleuth Jeffrey Bones is at the mall with his grandfather when he encounters the driver of his school bus, who has misplaced his vehicle. Detective Bones immediately begins sorting out the clues and quickly solves the mystery. In the meantime, his grandfather has a surprise of his own; he has adopted a dog that Bones had fallen for earlier in the day. Adler writes an appealing, breezy, sometimes slapstick story in short, accessible sentences and with plenty of lively dialogue to help guide beginning readers. Newman's expressive acrylics reinforce the meaning in the words while extending the sense of silliness in scenes of Bones and a crowd of friendly characters, all clad in garish, cheerfully patterned outfits. A solid offering in the Viking Easy-To-Read series. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (September 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059471
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059478
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,323,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write both fiction and non-fiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Andy Russell is based, loosely, on a beloved member of my family. He's fun to write about and the boy who inspired the character is even more fun to know. Cam Jansen is based even more loosely on a classmate of mine in the first grade whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Now, especially when my children remind me of some promise they said I made, I really envy Cam's amazing memory. I have really enjoyed writing about Cam Jansen and her many adventures. For my books of non-fiction I write about subjects I find fascinating. My first biography was Our Golda: The Life of Golda Meir. To research that book, I bought a 1905 set of encyclopedia. Those books told me what each of the places Golda Meir lived in were like when she lived there. I've written many other biographies, including books about Martin Luther King, Jr; George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Helen Keller; Harriet Tubman; Anne Frank; and many others in my Picture Book Biography series. I've been a Yankee and a Lou Gehrig fan for decades so I wrote Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. It's more the story of his great courage than his baseball playing. Children face all sorts of challenges and it's my hope that some will be inspired by the courage of Lou Gehrig. I am working now on another book about a courageous man, Janusz Korczak. My book One Yellow Daffodil is fiction, too, but it's based on scores of interviews I did with Holocaust survivors for my books We Remember the Holocaust, Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, The Number on My Grandfather's Arm, and Hiding from the Nazis. The stories I heard were compelling. One Yellow Daffodil is both a look to the past and to the future, and expresses my belief in the great spirit and strength of our children. I love math and was a math teacher for many years, so it was fun for me to write several math books including Fraction Fun, Calculator Riddles, and Shape Up! Fun with Triangles and Other Polygons. In my office I have this sign, "Don't Think. Just Write!" and that's how I work. I try not to worry about each word, even each sentence or paragraph. For me stories evolve. Writing is a process. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process. Well, it's time to get back to dreaming, and to writing, my dream of a job. David A. Adler is the author of more than 175 children's books, including the Young Cam Jansen series. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars When Bones gets out his "detective bag" you know you're in for an exiting mystery!, June 6, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery (Puffin Easy-To-Read: Level 2 (Pb)) (Hardcover)

Jeffrey Bones is a detective, Bones for short. He has a detective bag he takes with him just in case he needs it for work on a mystery. When he went to the mall with Grandpa he took out his detective powder and found lots of prints, but he was reminded that he was supposed to be looking for shirts, not clues. When they were in the pet store he put on his "bad-man disguise" and the curly haired puppy followed him. Now that pup would be a good "detective dog." All of a sudden Mr. Green, the school bus driver rushed up, looking very concerned, and said he needed him.

It was a very important case. Mr. Green said, "I lost my bus." Jeffrey got out his pad and went to work. He wrote three clues on his pad. "Big, Yellow and Wheels." He would find the bus. He also got out his magnifying glass and started to ask Mr. Green some questions about what he had been doing before the mysterious disappearance of the bus. He made Mr. Green backtrack so he could think about what went on. He went past the shirts, past the pet shop . . . wait, there was the pup with the curly tail. Bones had solved the mystery!

No doubt about it, Bones and his mystery series is a fun read for the budding detective. When Jeffrey starts writing clues on his pad of paper, you know he's seriously on the trail of solving a mystery. This is a Viking Level 2, "Easy-to-Read" book. There are simple, short sentences and the book can be read alone or with a bit of help. This is a great series of books and the only problem with them is that they don't come in a boxed set!