I’ve talked before about the Mini Mysteries series of kids’ picture books — the first two featured Hercule Poirot, The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Mystery of the Blue Train.
Now comes the third, with a new detective. It’s The Secret of the Old Clock: A Nancy Drew Detective Story, written by Marci Kay Monson (who also wrote the previous two) and illustrated by Ryan Wheatcroft.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read Nancy Drew, but Wikipedia tells us that this was the first Nancy Drew novel, originally published 1930, rewritten 1959, and entered the public domain this year (in regards to the original text).
As with the previous books, there’s something to find on every two-page spread — Nancy’s magnifying glass — as well as an activity, and the text is told in rhyming couplets. There are a lot of characters here, with someone new on almost every page.
It’s a fun reminder of the original girl adventurer, and perhaps finding a missing will is a little more kid-friendly than Poirot’s murders. Streamlining the story into a 32-page picture book also allows for emphasis on the mystery action over the outdated class and race elements of the original story. (The publisher provided a review copy.)
English (US) · 