The Mystery of King Karfu

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but one can do better
Review: Many children will likely enjoy this book. One of the major strengths of this book is the pictures which depict the text. There are many pictures in this book (and why not since it is a picture book?), and they are all fun to look at, sometimes even producing the occasional laugh. There is also interaction near the middle of the book in which the child gets to work out a decoding puzzle (using hieroglyphics). So if a young child is easily bored with books, there he/she may get a break from the reading. And the puzzle is central to the plot as well, so the child will feel like he/she is assisting the main character.

A major problem with this book is that the text looks more like notes from a lecture or someone's diary than the narrative of a storybook. Although, I have no doubt that the author did this on purpose, it will most likely not provide a worthwhile reading experience. It will certainly not assist in developing reading skills.

I could recommend this only as a fun book for kids. But there are tons of picture books out there that are not only fun but also cultivate and develop good reading skills. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.

3.5 stars

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but one can do better
Review: My 6yo daughter and I have been learning baout ancient Egypt, and I picked this book up to have add some light fiction to our theme. It was great! The narrative is presented as a diary/scrapbook with pictures, sketches, ticket stubs and a number of other objects that add visual interest and require very small children to make connections. The clues were easy enough for a young child to make sense of and there was enough there to keep an adult laughing too (one of the clues was "a red fish"). The book also requires the reader to decode two messages using a simple substitution table (one letter=one symbol). My reluctant little writer spelled out the whole message herself, several sentences' worth. She also requested more Seymour Wombat books. We just got "The Mystery of the Monkey's Maze" and look forward to enjoying more mysteries as Mr. Cushman writes them.

Rating:
Summary: My daughter wants more!
Review: My 6yo daughter and I have been learning baout ancient Egypt, and I picked this book up to have add some light fiction to our theme. It was great! The narrative is presented as a diary/scrapbook with pictures, sketches, ticket stubs and a number of other objects that add visual interest and require very small children to make connections. The clues were easy enough for a young child to make sense of and there was enough there to keep an adult laughing too (one of the clues was "a red fish"). The book also requires the reader to decode two messages using a simple substitution table (one letter=one symbol). My reluctant little writer spelled out the whole message herself, several sentences' worth. She also requested more Seymour Wombat books. We just got "The Mystery of the Monkey's Maze" and look forward to enjoying more mysteries as Mr. Cushman writes them.

Rating:
Summary: The Mystery of King Karfu is A Winner...
Review: The Mystery of King Karfu is a colorful book done for children of all ages. Even as a 26 year old, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author, Doug Cushman does a wonderful job leading the reader though deductive thought and problem solving strategies in order to solve the mystery of the theft of the Stone Chicken.

Through the illustrations and the note book style of writing, Seymour Sleuth the ace detective, weaves his way through the different stories and alibis in order to solve the mystery. Each picture and suspect offers a clue for the reader to study so they can help solve the mystery in the end.

He does a great job bringing all levels of readers into the story so they can truely enjoy this book. Young children can look at the details of the illustrations and achieve an understanding of what is going while the reader can read the story to them. He also accurately protrays the animals and landscape indicative of Egypt.

The book develops the problem solving skills of young readers which is a critical skill for future success in school and an ever increasingly interdependent world. I recommend this book to all parents and teachers for it not only entertains the reader but it also helps a child begin to develop all types of skills. It is a vaiation of the ABC books of old and in my opinion it allows the reader to feel part of what is going on in the story.

Rating:
Summary: The Mystery of King Karfu is A Winner...
Review: The Mystery of King Karfu is a colorful book done for children of all ages. Even as a 26 year old, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author, Doug Cushman does a wonderful job leading the reader though deductive thought and problem solving strategies in order to solve the mystery of the theft of the Stone Chicken.

Through the illustrations and the note book style of writing, Seymour Sleuth the ace detective, weaves his way through the different stories and alibis in order to solve the mystery. Each picture and suspect offers a clue for the reader to study so they can help solve the mystery in the end.

He does a great job bringing all levels of readers into the story so they can truely enjoy this book. Young children can look at the details of the illustrations and achieve an understanding of what is going while the reader can read the story to them. He also accurately protrays the animals and landscape indicative of Egypt.

The book develops the problem solving skills of young readers which is a critical skill for future success in school and an ever increasingly interdependent world. I recommend this book to all parents and teachers for it not only entertains the reader but it also helps a child begin to develop all types of skills. It is a vaiation of the ABC books of old and in my opinion it allows the reader to feel part of what is going on in the story.