Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping Frogs

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I recently discovered that Encyclopedia Brown is still an active detective. Yes, his old books are in print. But there are new books coming out that weren't around when I was a kid. Curious, I had to read one.

The old formula is still in place. In fact, I could probably quote most of the opening chapter from memory if I had tried. As is always the case, this book presents us with 10 new cases for Encyclopedia to solve. The first chapter features him helping his father capture a jewel thief. From there, he spends the rest of the book helping the neighborhood kids. He saves them from investing in a pill that stops water leaks. He identifies the author of an essay. He stops several thefts. And, yes, he still has a couple of run ins with Bugs Meany, the most appropriately named bully in kid lit history.

And he still stumps me. I thought as an adult, surely I'd figure out most of the cases. Nope, I got two of them. I was on the right track with a few more, but several still stumped me. Only one of them was so obscure that it was basically impossible.

I did discover that the stories were shorter and characters shallower than I remember them being. Not that you can expect when each story is about six pages long. One of those pages is devoted to a detailed pencil illustration.

I'm glad to see that my old pal Encyclopedia is still around to entertain a new generation of kids. Long may that be the case.

With just one question, the supersmart Leroy (a.k.a Encyclopedia) Brown will solve each mystery as he has for the past thirty years, using his superior logic skills. And because readers love to match wits with him, this series will endure for many more years, it is certain. Teachers can bedevil their students by reading a mystery each morning (they take about a minute each) and then letting the class try to solve it before the end of the day. When I did this, I had to hide the book in the trunk of my car because the kids were desperate to figure out the answer. Delightfully innocent, wonderfully tricky, all ages will love these quick vignettes with answers at the back of the book. Would also be good to use with seniors!

My kids love E.B. books and were quite happy reading/solving the first few. Then our school required this one for a book club. Turns out these are really pretty obscure and harder to solve. Also, Idaville and E.B. have moved to a weird parallel universe. My 8 year old & I both want to know what a "computer museum" is, as apparently Idaville now has one. While I applaud an attempt to update the books, the mysteries aren't as fun or as solvable. Really, it was easier to explain some of the antique stuff (what's a gasoline can?) than to understand the updates.

Boy detective, Encyclopedia Brown returns as a parody of himself. What can you expect from a boy who's been 10 for 30 years? The stories (cases) takes place in a parallel time not the past and not the present. It's a time where kids have names like Herb, Rupert, and Wilford and a foil named Bugs Meany. You can still hire a boy detective for 25 cents a day and preteens say things like, "stop beating your gums," and "keen for the green." There is something appealing about heroes being called "goody goods," by their foes and being told to, "go adopt an egg." It's good innocent fun. As for the mysteries, they are as clever and incomprehensible as the earlier books in the series--many will try, but few will figure them out. Solutions are in the back of the book.