Review by holsam_87 -- Serendipity Mystery by R.F. Kristi

[holsam_87]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Serendipity Mystery by R. F. Kristi is the seventh book in the Diary of a Snoopy Cat series. It is listed as a stand-alone children’s book. In this book, Inca and her family are in Sri Lanka for a vacation when it is discovered that an ancient sword has gone missing. Since she is a naturally curious, snoopy cat, she decides to investigate with her detective agency. Will they be able to find the sword and still enjoy their vacation?

This book series is adorable. I especially enjoy how developed the characters are and their interactions. Reading from Inca’s point of view in her diary puts a new spin on a detective series, especially since it is done in a diary. While it tends to follow Inca, there is an in-depth exposition on what her family is like. Even the humans have a lot of development and don't act like unimportant secondary characters.

Things that I especially enjoyed were the brightly, colored illustrations. This made it easy to see how each of the animals differed from each other, especially with Inca’s family on their family tree. We also have a section that gives detail on the members of the Inca & Company detective team. Even though it shows characters that are only briefly mentioned, it is beneficial for readers to know who everyone is.

What I didn’t really care for was the formatting for the entries. It breaks things down not only into days but into the times of the day, such as morning or evening. This might be confusing for some readers since the recommended age group is 7-12 years old. Parents or teachers would have to explain that the author’s intent is to show important events at the right point of the day.

Some ways that the author could make this book more interactive is to have a map showing the locations that the characters will go to, especially since not everyone will be familiar with how Sri Lanka is laid out. There should also be a small glossary of unfamiliar terms to help readers, for instance, have sarong listed and UNESCO. By having things like a glossary and a map, it will give readers more information on what to expect as they read. These text features will be beneficial as they will help with a reader’s navigation and give them more information about the topographical layout of Sri Lanka.

As for spelling and grammar, I only found a couple of misuses of commas, wrong word choices like than vs then, not bolding one of the time stamps and misspelling a couple of words too. It is with these considerations of the grammar and spelling that I accord Serendipity Mystery 4 out of 4 stars. When writing books for children, it is better to make things easier to read with a glossary for new words and a map for unfamiliar locations. Slang should also be avoided since not all regions use the same words, like saying nattered for talking and tinkle for pee might need to be explained to younger readers.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading about detectives, mysteries, and animals. Parents and teachers could discuss Inca’s behaviors and worries as she interacts with new friends and enemies. If this book is made available to take as an Accelerated Reader quiz, a lot of kids would enjoy it because it isn’t too long and it's very engaging with the color and description. Since this is such a fun series, I will be suggesting it to the local Elementary librarian to have it available for students.

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Serendipity Mystery
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