Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret UFO

Gr 3—5—Ten-year-old amateur detective Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown is at it again. In this collection by Donald Sobol (Dutton, 2010), he solves ten crimes, from petty theft to insurance fraud. Each story typically culminates with the crook slipping up and giving away a key piece of information that allows Encyclopedia to solve the crime. There is a brief pause before the solution is revealed so that budding sleuths have time to figure out the answer on their own. Listeners will enjoy playing detective, but may grow weary when every case has the exact same conclusion: Encyclopedia reveals the guilty party and he (and it's always a he) confesses to the illicit deed. Another downside to this collection is the decidedly old-fashioned flavor that may seem corny and dated to listeners. Greg Steinbruner's narration is lackluster. His tone is flat, the pace seems to lag slightly, and he doesn't do much to differentiate character voices.—Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public, Rochester, NY