Max Booth Future Sleuth: Tape escape by Cameron Macintosh
Ill. by Dave Atze. Big Sky Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9781925520606
(Ages: 7-9) Themes: Future, Detectives, Dogs, Robots. We dive right
in to the future with orphan Max Booth and his robot dog Oscar; it
is 2423 and they are about to become detectives. They have escaped
from the Skyburb 7 Home for Unclaimed Urchins and now live in the
storeroom of the Bluggsville City Museum for old technology. Jessie
the museum supervisor is their friend and she presents them with
challenge to find out information about a mystery object.
Oscar's handy projector allows Max to search the Splinternet for the
name of the object and they discover it was made pre 2037. We find
out that a book is needed for further research and paper has not
been used since 2021, so it is up to the duo to find an expert to
help. They first visit the library where Oscar makes a 3D impression
of the guard's tongue to gain access. Here, they must avoid laser
beams and eight-legged guards, climb to the top shelf, find a
specific book and look through pictures of ancient musical machines.
Their object is a cassette tape and needs a cassette player to
listen to the music. After a quick escape down the library roof,
they meet up with Jessie back at the museum. With the help of
Oscar's fast moving tail and an ancient barcode reader, they hear
the long lost songs from a popular mega-star David Snowie.
To authenticate their find, they travel to District 6 where an
unscrupulous forensic muzicologist steals the cassette tape. Max and
Oscar's sleuthing skills, quick thinking and creative disguises help
them rediscover the missing tape and return it to the museum.
Cameron Macintosh includes many puns and funny references to old
technology as he brings a realistic future world to life. David
Atze's cartoons add fun to the easy to read text for younger readers
as they begin engaging with chapter books. Max Booth Future
Sleuth is suited to high-interest lower reading age students
as well.
Rhyllis Bignell