Parents' Guide to

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions

By Mary Eisenhart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Sweet, wacky series start has strong values, scary moments.

The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 8+

Based on 1 parent review

age 8+

Great Fun For A 10 Year Old!

In The Mysterious Abductions, you’ll tag along with The Nocturnal Brigade, an unlikely trio of nighttime sleuths, as they solve the mysterious disappearances of their animal friends. Dawn, Tobin, and Bismark—the members of The Nocturnal Brigade—laugh, sneak, and scheme their way into a strange and imaginative new game that includes referee bats and a soaring spider-puck! Themes of teamwork, inclusion, and forgiveness are woven into an epic adventure that my ten year old adored.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

With numerous sequels already in the pipeline, Tracey Hecht's whimsical animal adventure is poised to deliver a raft of silliness, sweetness, and positive messages for years to come. More sophisticated readers may find it a tad derivative -- Hecht acknowledges the influence of Madagascar, which brings exotic critters and zany humor, and a crucial athletic contest is straight out of Alice in Wonderland. But there's a lot of charm here, enhanced by Kate Liebman's colorful illustrations that bring sensible Dawn, shy Tobin, and wacky Bismark to life. And the exciting adventures include plenty of positive messages about cooperation, friendship, courage, and doing the right thing.

Several characters load their speech with words in French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and Yiddish, which may not make a lot of sense in a tale of wild animals but will add to the fun for many readers.

Book Details

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