Parents' Guide to

Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked

By Barbara Schultz, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Plot and jokes forced but harmless in detective parody.

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Kids who like mysteries may find the story and characters entertaining, and there's some slapstick humor for kid-level laughs, but so far this series is benign but unthrilling.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka parodies police detective fiction in PLATYPUS POLICE SQUAD; THE FROG WHO CROAKED, creating a kid-ified version of a crime story starring various wild animals as police officers, a club owner, high school students, etc. Unfortunately, most of the humor and plot devices come off as forced to grown-ups and may be largely lost on kids -- kind of a lose-lose situation. Also, the plot involving illegal fish smuggling, while a funny substitute for familiar adult fare, is convoluted, and it's not clear why some kinds of fish are illegal.

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