Review by MsTri -- Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoop...

[MsTri]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat" by R.F. Kristi.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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30 JULY
MONDAY MORNING

I finished reading Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat (Book 7) last night and will write the review today. It shall read as follows:

Having read two of the previous Diary of a Snoopy Cat books, I was really looking forward to reading the continuing adventures of the animal detective agency, and I was not disappointed. In this tale, written by R.F. Kristi, Inca & Co. visit Sri Lanka with "Mommy", just to find that a valuable sword has been stolen from the main museum in Colombo. Fully living up to her nickname, the would-be detective Siberian kitty enlists her four-legged family and friends - the "& Co." part of the agency - to solve the mystery before the humanoids can.

Ostensibly written for children in the 5-18 age group, I think that children in the middle of that range, perhaps 8-13, would like this book the most; the writing is too complex for the younger part of that spectrum, and the story's too simple for the other end. As with the other Snoopy Cat books I read, I found the pacing to be excellent with the perfect amount of "ooooh" and "ah-ha" moments. I think youngsters will especially like the episode where Inca takes a ride on an elephant's back. There also aren't any truly scary parts that will give young ones nightmares. The scariest part was when Inca went wandering in the forest at night and got lost. During that section, a python gave Inca the once-over, as if deciding whether to make a meal of her or not.

Once again, the camaraderie between the felines, canine, and rodent (hamster) was spot-on, with just the right amount of teasing and love. I think that children with siblings will certainly be able to identify with their antics. Also, because each character has their own personality and idiosyncrasies, children should enjoy picking out which creature they most identify with and possibly even claim their family members as each animal. Besides Inca, my favorite character is still Inca's Tabby brother, Fromage, named because of his love of cheese, an admiration I can certainly commiserate with. Cara (Inca's Siamese sister cat), Terrance (the neighbor dog), and Charlotte (Fromage's hamster) round out the critter cast, and each bring something to the story in their own way. Also included are "Mommy" and Solo (Terrance's human). Additionally, even though he's not included in this tale, there is mention of Monk, Solo's Blue Russian cat who is also a friend to the gang. The animal friends that Inca & Co. make are also friendly, and I enjoyed their interactions with the core group. Rani the sea turtle in particular captured my heart, and I hated saying goodbye to her at the end of the tale. The "bad guys" have only a small role in this tale, so they're painted with a very fine brush, but they do serve their purpose without being scary.

Illustrations are one of the most important features of any children's book, and Serendipity Mystery strikes the perfect balance, using smaller sized pictures as accents rather than full-fledged drawings; this should please those who still enjoy pictures without turning off those who may think picture books are "for babies". For my part, I thought the drawings were very well done. The colors used are vivid and the images fully encapsulate the actions they are depicting. I spent almost as much time giggling over the pictures as I did enjoying the story! With that being said, I would liked to have seen some pictures showing Sri Lanka in all its glory, but that was just a minor quibble.

One of the things I like most about this series is that it's written from the viewpoint of the cat, Inca. As such, she has a unique voice that is just as haughty as I imagine a cat's voice would be if they could really talk. Unfortunately, being a feline, "Inca" also made a few errors of the typography type; the three mistakes included one missing comma, one missing word, and one incorrect word ("reading" when it should have been "ready".) In addition, the background border was missing from one of the Inca's Diary entry headings. Normally these missteps would be minor, but with this being a children's book, I think they should be corrected and a revised edition put out.

I also had concerns about two other things in the book. Even though I do realize that this tale is fiction, I was still taken aback when I read that Inca's Mommy allowed them to ride freely in the Land Rover before putting them in their carriers for a train ride; I know from experience that that is not safe. I was also somewhat horrified that Mommy left them in the car while she went indoors; according to Inca, Mommy left "our windows up, leaving just enough space at the top to let the air flow through." While children perhaps won't notice anything amiss, I think this action in particular sets a bad precedent, as there are way too many real life pet deaths due to them overheating in the car - it doesn't take long for that to happen either - so to see these things in a children's book bothered me.

After weighing everything noted above, I decided to rate Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat (Book 7) 4 out of 4 stars; the minor pet peeves I mentioned don't warrant the subtraction of a whole star, yet half stars are not available. I highly recommend this book for middle-school children and adults who, like me, are young at heart. I also think that readers who like books "written" by animals will enjoy this amusing yarn.

Until next time,
MsTri

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Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat
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Like MsTri's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kat Berg]

I have yet to read any of the books in this series, but they sound so cute I surely plan on doing it eventually. The issues you mentioned are rather concerning, and I have several precocious students who would certainly notice and comment on these things when reading this book. As always, I enjoyed your review!

[Morgan Jones]

Excellent review! My 8 year old brother really enjoys adventure books with great illustrations, so I hope he'll enjoy this. Thank you!

[Bonnie Shelby]

Thank you for your detailed review! I'm thinking of recommending it to my younger cousin, who's just starting to get into reading

[Charlaigne]

I was momentarily shocked to see Sri Lanka mentioned, as I was born there. Off to check out the pictures, thanks for your well-written review. And good pick up on the car safety issues.

[Vickie Noel]

Great review as usual, Ms Tri! I'd like to see how Inca deals with the python situation! Good job spotting out the safety issues somewhat neglected; I hope the author makes good use of this constructive criticism. I'm off to read the book now, thanks!

[Niv123]

I just read this and found it completely adorable! They're such a group of entertaining animals and it just took me back to my childhood! Wonderful review

[Nisha Ward]

Despite the stuff with the car, this book sounds like an absolute delight. Inca's story is sure tp amuse children and the number of critters involved is always a win.

[Damis Seres Rodriguez]

Oh the start of your review made me smile! It's adorable that you followed the format of the book. I also noticed the entry formatting error, on the diary but it didn't seem bad enough to distract me from the story. Great review!

[bookreviewmi1111]

This book was lovely. It can really teach kids to love animals more and I appreciate it. You wrote a nice review!