Review by Alice Ngugi -- Cat Detectives in the Korean Pe...

Alice Ngugi · Post by **Alice Ngugi** » 08 Sep 2020, 07:42

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula is a children's book by R.F. Kristy that revolves around Inca; a pet cat, and her friends. They include Fromage, Kara, monarch, Charlotte, Terrace, and Polo. Together they are Inca and Company. All of them are pet animals. Missy, their owner, creates new cheese and is invited to Korea for an international cooking competition as a judge.

Inca and the team are faced with a challenging adventure when they get to Korea. At the terminal, they help recover their mum's stolen cheese back. However, the ultimate challenge they face is helping their tour guide, Ye-hun, reunite with his sister Ji. This is after Inca overhears Ye-hun saying that he wishes his sister was in South Korea. They had been separated by the Korean border. Will they be successful and cross the border without being caught? Will the mission "reunite siblings" be successful?

The book's illustrations by Jorge Valle augments its beauty. The author achieves a comical theme through them. She also manages to bring out different personalities with each of the team members. The book is educative as it explores a lot about Korean culture. However, it may be complex for younger readers. I do not recommend it to children below eight years. This is because a basic understanding of why moving from North Korea to South Korea may be challenging is substantial. The 120 pages are written in simple and easy to understand English. The book does not disappoint.

I love the fact that the writer helps children to appreciate animals more by personifying them. The author also tries to inculcate the discipline of teamwork, friendships, always helping where possible, and always having each other's back. The book is written in a diary form and hence it was easy and interesting to follow along.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I barely found any errors and I believe that it was professionally edited. I got to understand the plight of families separated by the Korean border. Again, by highlighting this issue, he helps create awareness about it. There is nothing I did not like about this book. It contains absolutely no profanity. Not only will the children have a wonderful and fun experience reading through the book, but they will also get to learn more about the rich Korean culture.

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Cat Detectives in the Korean Peninsula
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Prisallen · Post by **Prisallen** » 12 Sep 2020, 08:17

I think children would get a big kick out of a group of detectives that are cats. It makes for a promising story. Thanks for your wonderful review!

Star_and_Buck · Post by **Star_and_Buck** » 12 Sep 2020, 08:54

The review is great. I didn't liked the book however. Some other parts are great but some of them were not upto my expectations.

Alice Ngugi · Post by **Alice Ngugi** » 15 Sep 2020, 11:18

Prisallen wrote: ↑12 Sep 2020, 08:17 I think children would get a big kick out of a group of detectives that are cats. It makes for a promising story. Thanks for your wonderful review!

Thank you! I hope you like it should you decide to read!

Alice Ngugi · Post by **Alice Ngugi** » 15 Sep 2020, 11:20

Star_and_Buck wrote: ↑12 Sep 2020, 08:54 The review is great. I didn't liked the book however. Some other parts are great but some of them were not upto my expectations.

Thanks for the comment. What were your expectations about it?

Amelia-Lily · Post by **Amelia-Lily** » 27 May 2022, 21:05

Prisallen wrote: ↑12 Sep 2020, 08:17 I think children would get a big kick out of a group of detectives that are cats. It makes for a promising story. Thanks for your wonderful review!

I agree with you first statement very much. It will be enthralling for so many children. I know this because I had my nephew read it.