Customer Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a fun and funny book Margie Palatini has written--and Richard Egielski's cartoonish yet deadpan illustrations complement it beautifully. Palatini has taken the "Dum de dum dum" theme from TV's long-ago "Dragnet" and applied it here to a barnyard mystery. Sounds simple, and simplistic, but she soars in weaving into the story all sorts of fairy tale and nursery rhyme goodies--not to mention wonderful wordplay, like:

"A lot of squawking going on down in the coop area, Ducktective Web. Looks like fowl play. Report says feathers are flying. Chief says we should check out the chicks."

"Chicks?"

"Check."

"Let's fly." DUM DE DUM DUM . . .

Palatini works in Peter Piper and his pack of pickled peppers (upping the ante by calling them perfect and purple as well), a falsely accused Little Boy Blue who offers the alibi that HE didn't do it because he was under the haystack, fast asleep--which the witnesses then confirm with: "The sheep were in the meadow. Cows in the corn." Swing back again quickly to the "Dragnet" end of things and the author makes one of the suspects an actual Dirty Rat (aptly named Ratzo).

This is fun for children and possibly even more fun for their baby boomer parents. It's a great read.

The Web Files is a wacky, hilarious detective tale set in a barnyard with two ducks as heroes. Dum De Dum Dum. Styled on the old Dragnet series model, the tale unfolds with minimum clipped dialogue and lots of implied action humourously expressed by the color illustrations of Richard Egielski. This school age child's book's style is contagious. Be prepared for repeat requests to read this one aloud.

We picked this book up at the library and have been laughing out loud ever since. You can read about the story itself in the editorial review above. This is one book I really love reading several times a day (as most kids want you to do). I've had a great time trying to get the Dragnet dead-pan voice just right - now try doing it with a tongue-twister too! This book is just plain funny!

We both love the myriad references to other stories and characters, the tongue-twisting fun and wonderful illustrations. She loves hearing me read it and catches me if I miss one of the twisters. Reading the same book over and over truly CAN be fun!

Hysterically funny book, especially for Dragnet lovers. Third and Fourth graders love the book, second graders don't get all the humor. Well worth a fifteen buck investment.

Dragnet (dum de dum dum), nursery rhymes (Little Boy Blue), James Cagney (you dirty rat), and Hawaii 5-O (Book 'im, ducko) all contribute to this clever detective tale, and the typeface looks like typewriter type, just as a detective's report would have looked before computers.

The inventive use of other sources and the logical detection of the plot make this a winner for adults. I can't wait to see how my four-year-old grandson likes it.

Parts of some illustrations didn't seem to have anything to do with the story, but the lettuce leaf hanging from the dirty rat's chin is perfect, though obvious.

If the children you read to like mysteries, try the Nate the Great series by Marjorie Sharmat. They are easy-to-read books and great logic puzzles for the young.

Margie Palatini and Richard Egielski's splendid picturebook Web Files is a different, celebrated form of intrigue for the very young in which someone has pilfered a peck of perfect purple almost-pickled peppers. It's up to Ducktective Web to investigate. Good reading skills or parental assistance will enhance appreciation of this pun-filled frolic.

I read this book to my five year old son tonight with my "Dragnet" voice and we laughed as the catchy Dum De Dum Dum was read. I decided to read it to my 8 year old daughter as well and she also loved the book and said we have to get it. I came back to my son's room down the hall where he should have been going off to sleep, and noticed at 8:53 the he was still up listening to me read the book to his sister, he liked it that much and now I am ordering it from Amazon this instant! Dum De Dum Dum Dum!

This was one of the funniest kids books I have ever read! It was hilarious and downright entertaining. It had my children and I excited about turning the page. I even called my 15 year old sister, read it to her and she loved it! Ms. Palatini should make this a series. I would buy every one!

This book is a great find. I read it in dragnet style ( for those old enough to know that) the characters are great for changing voice in the story and the dum da dum dum gets my son giggling every time. The bad guy gets caught and there is even some humor adults would enjoy. I recommend this to anyone who likes to add a little variety to the books they read and act out the story instead of just reading the words. EXCELLENT!!

"6:32AM, My partner Bill and I were working the barnyard shift. It was peaceful. Quiet. Then we got the call." There was a robbery at the hen house...peppers, purple almost pickled peppers. Back at headquarters, the place was really jumping. A miss named Muffet had been tossed off her tuffet. A gal named Peep was missing sheep and Horner was in the corner trying to make Boy Blue quack. As Ducktective Web and his sidekick Bill try and "quack the case", they're called to the scene of another robbery. "10:43AM, Corner of Barn and Pen." More vanishing vegetables. A horse is missing tomatoes and a sheep, lettuce. Looks like the makings of a salad. And there's only one suspect who's M.O. fits the crime, Dirty Rat. "Book him, Ducko!"..... From the time and place that begins each scene, to the Dum-de-dum-dums, to the dead-pan narration by Ducktective Web, Margie Palatini has outdone herself with this parody of the TV show, Dragnet. Her ingenious text is full of humor, alliteration, wordplay and puns and both kids and adults alike, will be laughing out loud at the antics of this crime fighting duo. Richard Egielski's colorful, expressive, detailed artwork complements the story perfectly and youngsters will love finding their favorite nursery rhyme characters, used so cleverly in the story. Although, adults will relish the inside jokes, you don't have to be a fan of Dragnet, or even know the series to enjoy this book. Perfect for children 4 and older, The Web Files is a terrific book the entire family can share and a wonderful addition to all home libraries.