The midnight mystery by Clara Vulliamy
Dotty Detective bk 3. HarperCollins Children's Books, 2017.
ISBN 9780008132422
(Age: 6+) Recommended. Mystery. Detective. Camps. The Join the Dots
Detectives have a brand new adventure to enthral fans. Dot and Beans
are off on an Adventure Camp. They're looking forward to being away
from home and going grass tobogganing and sitting around a campfire
at night. Under the guidance of their teacher Mr D the class is
divided into groups and all want to win the Adventure Camp Prize but
Laura is up to her old tricks again and weird things start to
happen. Meanwhile back at home McLusky has been entered into the
Larks in the Park Dog Show and Dot really wants him to win something
in the competition.
Vulliamy once again brings an exciting book for young fans who might
imagine themselves as detectives. She introduces her young
detectives and their school group at the beginning of the book in
such a way that readers new to the Dotty Detective feel comfortable
in picking up the book, even if they haven't read the first two in
the series, Dotty Detective, and Dotty Detective: The
pawprint puzzle. The adventures at the camp are vividly
described and Dotty is very clever about finding out why strange
things are happening and is also very compassionate when she
uncovers the unexpected truth at the conclusion of the camp. McLusky,
her gorgeous little dog, also trains hard at home for his appearance
in the show.
This is a delightful tale that will appeal to children who may be
afraid about going to Adventure Camp as the illustrations give a
good idea of what to expect and will be reassuring about what will
happen there. Her depiction of the teacher and helping hands at the
camp was also encouraging for children who may be a little scared
about being away from home.
Written in the very popular diary form this will have immediate
appeal for the young reader who is just starting out on junior
novels. Large print with lots of bold words will help the emerging
reader and funny little illustrations add to the humour and suspense
of the story and the picture code that Dot and Beans used will be a
challenge for children who like to solve problems.
Pat Pledger