Review by Tomah -- Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula

[Gabriel Merêncio]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula" by R.F. Kristi.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula is the eighth entry in the Inca Cat Detective series written by R.F. Kristi. The book follows the kitty detective Inca as she heads to South Korea with her family and friends. Once there, they meet a guide named Ye-Jun and his dog Baram. It turns out that Ye-Jun has a sister who went to visit some relatives in North Korea alongside her cat Bo-Mi but hasn’t returned. Will Inca and her companions be able to bring this case to a happy conclusion?

The story follows a simple structure in which each chapter corresponds to a day from April 10 to April 17. Since the novel is written like a diary, each day also has subdivisions like Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. We follow the point of view of Inca as the events unravel. Everything starts with Inca’s mom joining a French cuisine competition in South Korea as a judge, but the stakes quickly rise when the gang learns of Ye-Jun’s plight. As the characters prepare to launch their bold plan, the novel moves into its climax: a dangerous expedition thrilling enough to engage even adult readers.

Children aged eight to twelve should have no problems enjoying the book as the language remains simple and accessible. There are occasional French expressions like “La Crème de la Crème”, but they’re usually followed by explanations. The reader also learns facts about Korea as the gang goes sightseeing and the ever inquisitive Inca asks questions on what she sees and hears about.

The book is wonderfully edited and illustrated, with a clean layout, short paragraphs, a quirky but readable font, and cute, colorful drawings. I could only spot one error of missing quotation marks in a few dialogue lines, so overall the book seems professionally edited.

As a stand-alone read, Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula assumes no knowledge of the series and is open to all newcomers. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to parents, teachers, and guardians who want some good reading material for kids. Filled with amusing characters, fun light-hearted adventures, and educational content, the book is good enough to disregard minor editing oversights, hence the perfect score. Very young readers might need adult guidance to parse the meaning of expressions like “bon voyage” and understand the meaning of somewhat harder words they might not know yet.

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Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I love it when authors are able to create children's books that are fun to read AND educational. It sounds like this book has combined the two very well.

[Gabriel Merêncio]

I love it when authors are able to create children's books that are fun to read AND educational. It sounds like this book has combined the two very well.

Thanks for the comment! Indeed, this book has everything covered.

[kdstrack]

This author writes interesting books for this audience. The different settings expose readers to new countries and cultures. I have read other books in this series and agree with your positive comments and rating of this book. Great review!

[Gabriel Merêncio]

This author writes interesting books for this audience. The different settings expose readers to new countries and cultures. I have read other books in this series and agree with your positive comments and rating of this book. Great review!

Thanks for the comment! I haven't read the other books in the series but would love to.