Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile is a taut, often funny mystery about an African-American sixth grader who becomes embroiled in a complex case involving art thieves. The police enlist his help after they discover he has a photographic memory and can draw perfect sketches of possible suspects. There's some violence, including one graphic shooting and Eddie being duct-taped to a drainpipe by a criminal, but it's a small part of the story. Eddie's also the victim of some mild taunting/bullying at school. The book does not talk down to its target audience; in fact, it includes a fair amount of complicated vocabulary, unexplained mentions of ADHD and OCD and the slang "meds," as well as discussions of artists and New York museums. Eddie's race does not factor into the story in any significant way, but it's notable because of the relative rarity of having the main character in this type of book be a person of color. The novel features a number of Eddie's sketches of characters (including himself and his father) and suspects -- engaging black-and-white full-page portraits by illustrator Marcos Calo -- as well as a couple of Manhattan street maps. This is the first book in the Eddie Red series.
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What's the Story?
EDDIE RED UNDERCOVER: MYSTERY ON MUSEUM MILE is told through the eyes of 11-year-old Edmund Lonnrot, a short African-American sixth grader with two special skills -- he has a photographic memory and he's an exceptional artist. When the New York City police discover his talent, they enlist him as an afterschool and weekend undercover observer and sketch artist to help solve a baffling series of thefts in Manhattan museums. In return, "Eddie Red, as the lead detective dubs him, hopes to earn enough money to attend a prestigious private school his family could not otherwise afford. He works and clashes with a hard-boiled detective who doesn't really want Eddie on the case. Meanwhile, Eddie gets help from his brainy and obsessive friend Jonah as they try to crack the mystery together.
Is It Any Good?
Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile is the first novel by Marcia Wells, and it's a zippy and engaging read, with plenty of humor and vivid characters. It also features wonderful sketches of different people in the story (supposedly by Eddie, but actually done by illustrator Marcos Calo) that really capture their personalities. The world of fine art and New York museums is perhaps a slightly odd choice as a setting for middle-grade novel, but Wells manages to make it seem quite interesting and exciting. Young readers will definitely learn a few things about art -- and the intricacies of police work -- along the way.
One complaint: The solution to one of the primary mysteries of the book is almost incomprehensible, even if you are chess fanatic. That's the only downer in an otherwise fine book.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about mysteries. What makes a good one? How does Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile compare with others you've read?
Eddie has a photographic memory and is a skilled artist. If you got involved in a mystery, what special skill do you have that might help solve it?
How does modern technology help Eddie solve the case?
Book Details
- Author: Marcia Wells
- Illustrator: Marcos Calo
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Arts and Dance, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication date: April 1, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 9 - 12
- Number of pages: 248
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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