Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Library Binding)

by Jean Craighead George (Author) "Cock Robin lay on his back with his feet in the air..." (more)
Key Phrases: hawk woods, mysterious chemical, baby robins, Cock Robin, Mary Alice, Mayor Joe (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Eighth-grader Tony Isidoro is determined to find out why a robin resting on the mayor's porch suddenly dies. "A new edition of a book first published in 1971 relates a small town's growing awareness of ecological relationships after the mysterious death of a celebrated robin."—H.

About the Author

Jean Craighead George has written many outstanding nature books for children, including the 1973 Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves, and Who Killed Cock Robin? Her Eco Mysteries include The Case of the Missing Cutthroats, The Fire Bug Connection, and The Missing 'Gator of Gumbo Limbo. She lives in Chappaqua, New York.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Library Binding: 176 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060219815
• ISBN-13: 978-0060219819
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,762,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Eco-Mystery, March 17, 2001

By	Isabel Harding (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries) (Paperback)

Environmentalist, ecologist, naturalist, and writer Jean Craighead George, the Rachel Carson for children, will win her audiences once again with this story. The plot revolves around Tony Isidoro, a young biologist who is bent on solving the mystery of the death of his hometown's feathered mascot, Cock Robin. As he uncovers assorted clues strung throughout the town--chemical activity, sudden loss of frogs and birds--Tony must try to convince his naive neighbors that not just one thing is responsible for the bird's death, but many imbalances in the town's ecosystem, which everyone is convinced is the cleanest around. Since it's an eco-mystery, the story is grippingly told in the style of a crime investigation. From the beginning you want to know Who Really Killed Cock Robin: "Cock Robin lay on his back with his feet in the air. . .It was seven minutes past six A.M. on the twenty-fourth day of May. He was dead." There are endless possiblities for the cause of the bird's death, and at times it's a bit unrealistic when Tony immediately dismisses some types of poisons and investigates others. Younger kids may have no idea what DDT, PCB, and 2,4,5-T are, though the author does try to explain them. However, the story, the dedication--"To sunshine, clear water, and sparkling skies and to the kids who are cleaning up the Earth"--and Ms. George's supportive Author's Note in the new paperback version will surely inspire kids to clean up their environment and veer away from the use of harmful, chemical-containing products. If one enjoys this Eco-Mystery, check out the others in the series--THE CASE OF THE MISSING CUTTHROATS; THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION; and THE MISSING 'GATOR OF GUMBO LIMBO. Don't forget Jean Craighead George's eighty or so other remarkable stories--the Julie of the Wolves books, the My Side of the Mountain trilogy, the One Day series. . .the list goes on and on. Each book will deepen readers' respect for nature and our beautiful but threatened planet.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cock robin is a bird "killed" by something in the enviroment, September 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries) (Paperback)

Very well written, not so deep so that kids can't understand it. It is unique in that it doesn't lecture or preach, like many ecological books.

5.0 out of 5 stars Still a classic of environmental fiction, September 24, 2007

By	Brian Connors (Cape Cod, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries) (Paperback)

This was one of my favorite library books as a child, and it's really a very cool book for any child who wants to understand how ecology works. The death of the mascot of a small Massachusetts college town becomes a cause celebre as two interested schoolchildren and a graduate student from the local university trace the impact of human activity on the local environment, discovering hidden damage in many corners of the town from fertilizers, pesticides, industrial toxins, and other pollutants and try to track what effect it had on Cock Robin, his mate, and their mostly-failed clutch of eggs. After the book has done an effective job of illustrating how local effects can have wide-ranging consequences, the town takes a turn towards greenness in Cock Robin's memory; however, a twist ending reveals a hidden variable that shows just how far humans have to go to truly understand the world they live in.

The book takes an interesting position that is absent from much ecological literature written for adults -- it's important to be aware of and mitigate your footprint on the environment, but that fanaticism and snap judgements, even in the defense of the environment, are counterproductive, a message that is perhaps a bit too subtle over three decades later in a world of black-and-white politics ruled more by emotion and prejudice than reasoned responses. The need for a measured response even in the face of immediate danger is lost on many in the hard green movement, even as the opponents of environmentalism deny that there is a problem in the first place. Who Killed Cock Robin? makes this point quite eloquently. There should be more books like this for children.

Incidentally, if you happen to enjoy this book, Gary Larson's gloriously twisted There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a nice followup, like WRKCR? offering proof that the idea of "the interconnectedness of all things" is a physical reality, not just spiritual fluff spouted by New Agers.