Tarot Says Beware (Herculeah Jones Mystery) [Hardcover]

Betsy Byars (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Herculeah Jones Mystery

With her sidekick, Meat, Herculeah Jones investigates an empty house, and the two discover that Herculeah's friend Madame Rosa, a fortune teller, may have predicted her own murder. By the author of Cracker Jackson.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?Tarot is not a pack of cards but a parrot, and a special concern of Herculeah Jones. Herculeah, named for the hero of a B movie, takes care of the parrot on occasion when its owner, local fortune teller Madame Rosa, goes out of town. Suspicious when she sees the door open and the bird outside, Herculeah enters the house and finds that the woman has been murdered. Naturally, the girl with the "radar hair" wants to know who did it, and why. She and her friend Meat get into several scrapes trying to get to the bottom of the mystery but in the end everything turns out well (except for poor Madame Rosa) and there is even a nice lead into the next adventure. The story is well plotted and the characters are nicely rounded. The dialogue is a bit self-conscious but readers will be so caught up in waiting for the next footstep on the creaky stairs that they probably won't notice. Much like the "Scooby Doo" cartoon series, there are hints of the supernatural that turn out to be the bad guys dressed "for success." Add for those readers past the "Encyclopedia Brown" (Lodestar) stage but not yet ready for Betty Ren Wright.?Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. The latest in Byars' new series which features amateur sleuth Herculeah Jones doesn't quite live up to the promise of The Dark Stairs. However, the characters still have lots of potential: intrepid, heroic Herculeah is a true descendant of Nancy Drew, with an insatiable curiosity that gets her into all sorts of trouble; Meat, her loyal but timid sidekick, is a swell comic foil. And there are a few suspenseful scenes, particularly as Herculeah prowls Madame Rosa's strangely quiet house and discovers the palmist's body, with a knife in its chest. It's the unraveling and the paltry list of suspects that are a mite rickety. Still, kids who are meeting this contemporary (Herculeah's parents are divorced, etc.) Holmes-Watson duo for the first time may be sufficiently charmed by the characters to overlook the plot's weaknesses, and because Byars doesn't overdo the violence, the story may be a good introduction to the genre for a child who wants to read a mystery but doesn't want to be too scared to finish it. Stephanie Zvirin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670855758
• ISBN-13: 978-0670855759
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,084,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Betsy Byars began her writing career rather late in life First, she married and started a family. The writing career didn't emerge until she was 28, a mother of two children, and living in a small place she called the barracks apartment, in Urbana, Illinois. She and her husband, Ed, had moved there in 1956 so he could attend graduate school at the University of Illinois. She was bored, had no friends, and so turned to writing to fill her time. Byars started writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post, Look,and other magazines. As her family grew and her children started to read, she began to write books for young people and, fortunately for her readers, discovered that there was more to being a writer than sitting in front of a typewriter. "Once a wanderer came by my house and showed me how to brush my teeth with a cherry twig; that went in The House of WingsThe Summer of the Swans." Since that time, Byars has written more than 45 books for young readers and has won numerous awards, including The American Book Award, which she received in 1981 for The Night Swimmers. The humor, compassion, and insight Byars brings to each of her books won her a large audience of admirers both in the United States and abroad. Six of her novels were presented on national television, and her books are translated into nine languages. Six of Byars' novels have been named ALA Notable Books, and in 1971, The Summer of the Swans -- a story about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother -- won the Newbery Award as the most distinguished contribution to literature for children in the year of its publication. Byars was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 7, 1928. Unlike many of the characters in her books, Byars grew up in a normal, loving family. Her father was an engineer and worked as a bookkeeper in a cotton mill. He was stern and hardworking and had a strong sense of humor. Her mother was a lively woman who loved acting and music. Byars's sister, Nancy, two years older, was sometimes an inspiration and sometimes an evil nemesis. Byars has always been adventurous and never allows a few setbacks to prevent her from doing things she wants to experience, like petting a blacksnake and flying planes. The snake was named Moon and became the subject of her 1991 autobiography, The Moon and I. Betsy Byars and her husband live on an air strip in South Carolina, and have traveled widely throughout the United States in pursuit of their interest in gliding and antique airplanes. They have four grown children and seven grandchildren.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarot Says Beware, April 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tarot Says Beware (Herculeah Jones Mystery) (Hardcover)

Tarot Says Beware is a really great book for kids 10-14. it is about this girl herculeah who looks out her window one day and sees madame rosa's parrot outside, and she knows that madame rosa would never let tarot out because how much she loves the bird, so she goes to madame rosa's and no one is there and the bird is saying beware beware! you will have to read it to see what all happens!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Melanie's book Review, April 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tarot Says Beware (Herculeah Jones Mystery) (Hardcover)

When Herculeah checks over at Madem Rosas home she sees that Tarot [the bird] is out of its cage which is very rare. She walks into the house and... 'IT WILL KEEP YOU TURNING THE PAGE FOR MORE' 'A MIX OF NANCY DREW AND GOOSBUMPS'For ages 10 and 13

5.0 out of 5 stars Tarot Says Good Book, March 29, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Tarot Says Beware (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (School & Library Binding)

Tarot Says Beware was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Herculeah is the new Nancy Drew. She brings mystery to the new age with her curiosity. This book is suspenseful and exciting. The answer lies with a bird and the simple word "BEWARE". I think that this book is great and you should read it