Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile

Name: Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile
Item: Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile
Rating: 4
Author: Blair Jackson

Book review by

Blair Jackson, Common Sense Media

Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile Book Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 9+

(i)

Boy sketch artist helps catch art thieves in zippy mystery.

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Educational Value

There's considerable discussion of police procedures, including how suspect sketches are created and surveillance techniques. The action is set partly in Manhattan's "Museum Mile," so there's information about some of the art found in different New York museums, as well as mentions a few artists, including Picasso and Monet, and descriptions of a couple of their pieces. At the end of the book, there's a two-page, step-by-step "How to Draw Faces" art lesson by "Eddie Red." Eddie also shares some of his knowledge of Spanish and German words.

Positive Messages

More can be accomplished through teamwork than by working alone. It's gratifying to discover a special skill and then use it for a good cause. Don't be afraid to ask for help from adults. Attaining big goals often involves both perseverance and personal sacrifice.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Eddie is doggedly determined to solve the mystery at the center of the book and goes to great lengths to gather clues, using mostly his ingenuity and great powers of observation. Though he often gets frustrated by the behavior of various adults, or their unwillingness to listen to his ideas, he's unfailingly polite to those around him. On the negative side, he doesn't always follow the suggestions of his superiors, which often leads to trouble.

Violence

The book begins with an episode in which our hero, Edmund, sees a man running out of an alley carrying a bloody knife after a scuffle of some sort. Later, Eddie is threatened, duct-taped to a drainpipe, and held at gunpoint by a criminal. In the same episode, a detective is shot near Eddie, who applies pressure to the bloody wound. Earlier, Eddie kicks the detective in the groin as part of his self-defense class (but that's mainly played for laughs). Eddie's also the victim of some mild taunting/bullying at school and at one point a confrontation with the bully gets physical.

Sex

Consumerism

Just a few product mentions: Google (used as a verb), Doritos, Hallmark, M&M's; iPod, Jell-O, Nike; also several New York museums are mentioned by name, as is The New York Times.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

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, Misfits and Underdogs
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