Sherlock Bones and the Missing Cheese

PreS-Gr 1—Call that brilliant hound, Sherlock Bones! The smelly, scrumptious cheese that sits in the dell, made from milk from a cantankerous, one-horned, two-eared, three-legged Cowabunga, is gone! Sherlock Bones uses his five senses to solve the case, interviewing the farmer's wife, the cat, the rat, and the Muffin Man about what they saw, heard, smelled, and felt (Sherlock Bones does the tasting). Lush illustrations made of layered cut paper and colored pencil capture the story's mirth. Rhymes dominate the text, making it a great choice for phonemic awareness: "Then, with nose to the ground, that brilliant hound started sniffing around. He picked up a scent, and off he went." The syncopated rhythm keeps the constant rhyming fresh and engaging. A spread at the end shows how the canine solves the crime, organizing his clues according to his five senses. The book ends with sheet music for "The Farmer in the Dell," on which the story is very loosely based. A surefire hit with children, and clever enough for adults to enjoy.—Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR