Review by B Creech -- Cat Detectives in the Korean Penin...
Posted: 19 Nov 2020, 08:37
[Following is a volunteer review of "Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula" by R.F. Kristi.]
Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula by R. F. Kristi is book number eight in the Inca Cat Detective Series. Inca, her brother Fromage, sister Cara, and their pet hamster Charlotte live with their mom, Missy. They are part of the Inca Cat Detective Agency. Other detectives are Monk, a Russian blue cat, and Terrance, a "detective doggy" who lives with their friend Solo (who has a crush on Missy). Lastly, there is Polo, an "energetic Pekingese" from the neighborhood.
Missy, a culinary chef, has been invited to South Korea to be a judge in a culinary chef competition at the famous French cookery school 'Le Cordon Bleu.' She has created a delicious new cheese and plans to debut it at the cooking contest. Arriving at the airport in South Korea, Missy realizes her new cheese is missing. Inca and the detectives found the rival chef who had stolen it and rescued mom's prize cheese. They meet their tour guide, Ye-Jun, and he invites them to stay in his home. They learn Ye-Jun and his dog, Baram, are separated from his sister, Ji, and her cat, Bo-Mi, who live in North Korea. Ji is a finalist in the cooking contest and is staying just across the border. Inca overhears Solo and Ye-Jun making plans to sneak across the border to find Ji. Inca knew it would be too dangerous for the humans, so she and her detectives devised a plan to reunite Ye-Jun and Baram with Ji and Bo-Mi. What does Inca have up her sleeve? Will she be putting them all in danger? Would her plan work?
The author wove an exciting adventure for children in this book. The loveable animal detectives are excellent characters who will capture a child's imagination. The book is not only about the animal detectives' attempt to reunite Ye-Jun, Ji, Baram, and Bo-Mi; it is also educational. Inca and Company get to visit the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea) and the Freedom Bridge, which connects the north and south and where prisoners' exchange took place at the end of the Korean War. To this day, both sides leave messages on streamers attached to the bridge for family members on the opposite side. The group also got to visit Namsan Park, where over one-thousand blooming cherry blossom trees surrounded a lake with a trail you could walk among the trees. Learning about other countries and their cultures is an excellent way to teach kids not to discriminate against others.
I enjoyed the illustrations in this book most of all. The animated faces of the furry characters made me laugh. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I found a few errors, mainly misspelled words, but they did not interfere with my reading. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, I loved the pet detective characters, and the book is well-edited, so I am rating it a well deserved 4 out of 4 stars.
I commend R. F. Kristi on this creative series of children's books. Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula, although part of a series, stands alone as an excellent book for children. I highly recommend it to ages eight to ten, but pre-teens may also enjoy it. Teachers could use this book for storytime with kindergarten through second-grade students.
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Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula by R. F. Kristi is book number eight in the Inca Cat Detective Series. Inca, her brother Fromage, sister Cara, and their pet hamster Charlotte live with their mom, Missy. They are part of the Inca Cat Detective Agency. Other detectives are Monk, a Russian blue cat, and Terrance, a "detective doggy" who lives with their friend Solo (who has a crush on Missy). Lastly, there is Polo, an "energetic Pekingese" from the neighborhood.
Missy, a culinary chef, has been invited to South Korea to be a judge in a culinary chef competition at the famous French cookery school 'Le Cordon Bleu.' She has created a delicious new cheese and plans to debut it at the cooking contest. Arriving at the airport in South Korea, Missy realizes her new cheese is missing. Inca and the detectives found the rival chef who had stolen it and rescued mom's prize cheese. They meet their tour guide, Ye-Jun, and he invites them to stay in his home. They learn Ye-Jun and his dog, Baram, are separated from his sister, Ji, and her cat, Bo-Mi, who live in North Korea. Ji is a finalist in the cooking contest and is staying just across the border. Inca overhears Solo and Ye-Jun making plans to sneak across the border to find Ji. Inca knew it would be too dangerous for the humans, so she and her detectives devised a plan to reunite Ye-Jun and Baram with Ji and Bo-Mi. What does Inca have up her sleeve? Will she be putting them all in danger? Would her plan work?
The author wove an exciting adventure for children in this book. The loveable animal detectives are excellent characters who will capture a child's imagination. The book is not only about the animal detectives' attempt to reunite Ye-Jun, Ji, Baram, and Bo-Mi; it is also educational. Inca and Company get to visit the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea) and the Freedom Bridge, which connects the north and south and where prisoners' exchange took place at the end of the Korean War. To this day, both sides leave messages on streamers attached to the bridge for family members on the opposite side. The group also got to visit Namsan Park, where over one-thousand blooming cherry blossom trees surrounded a lake with a trail you could walk among the trees. Learning about other countries and their cultures is an excellent way to teach kids not to discriminate against others.
I enjoyed the illustrations in this book most of all. The animated faces of the furry characters made me laugh. There wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I found a few errors, mainly misspelled words, but they did not interfere with my reading. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, I loved the pet detective characters, and the book is well-edited, so I am rating it a well deserved 4 out of 4 stars.
I commend R. F. Kristi on this creative series of children's books. Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula, although part of a series, stands alone as an excellent book for children. I highly recommend it to ages eight to ten, but pre-teens may also enjoy it. Teachers could use this book for storytime with kindergarten through second-grade students.
******
Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon