August 1, 2018
Gr 1-3-The adorable crime-solving duo returns to deduce the whereabouts of Detective Buffy's mom. By focusing on Buffy's origin story, Nilsson deepens the series, which has already covered such meaningful themes as intergenerational friendship and bullying. This volume gently explores concepts like trauma, as when Buffy remembers the stressful circumstances under which she was separated from her entire family. There are a few loaded asides from Gordon that reinforce harmful forms of real-world bias ("Maybe mice could leave their families and think no more about them. You couldn't assume that everyone was like a completely ordinary toad"). This detracts from an otherwise thoughtfully crafted plot in which Gordon and Buffy learn from their younger sidekicks and Gordon acknowledges his own power. Spee's illustrations skillfully capture tender scenes along with spots of chuckle-worthy moments. VERDICT The charming pastoral setting, Gordon's wry antics, and Buffy's heartfelt journey will provide much comfort to fans of the series, especially on rainy days or before bed.-Della Farrell, School Library Journal
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 15, 2018
A very personal case for the detectives of the sweet little police station in the forest.Detective Buffy (a young mouse) and Detective Gordon (an old toad) handle nice, small cases like lost scarves and naughty, littering children in their forest district. When two students from the local kindergarten, a baby toad and a baby mouse, come to train as "small police," they mention their mothers so often that Buffy becomes sad. She doesn't remember hers. Detective Gordon encourages her to write poetry to remember, and her verse leads to memories of her past. The four head out to Cave Island to discover what happened to Buffy's newly remembered mother and siblings. The island is across a mountain and, of course, a bit of water--and there is a fox there to deal with...will he eat the police? Nilsson's fourth case for kind, wise (and tired) Detective Gordon and his cake-loving mouse protégée is no less charming than its predecessors. Marshall's deft, homey translation and Spee's colorful, plentiful illustrations of anthropomorphic animals give the book the feel of a classic you just hadn't discovered until now. A good choice for family reading time or newly minted readers of chapters.A gentle, mothercentric mystery that couldn't be less threatening and a fine addition to the series. (Mystery. 6-10)
COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
September 1, 2018
This fourth series entry (Detective Gordon: The First Case, rev. 5/15, and sequels) sees Detective Gordon slowing down but still enjoying life, his prot�g� Buffy having assumed most of the duties of the sweet little police station in the forest. The toad-and-mouse pair's peaceful routine?their police work consists mostly of educating citizens to be kind to one another?is interrupted when Buffy suddenly realizes something catastrophic: before coming to the forest, she had been separated from her mother and her many mouse siblings and doesn't know their fate. Accompanied by two young volunteers, toad Sune and mouse Gertrude, the detectives set off on an urgent mission to Cave Island (Buffy's now-remembered home), solve the case, and reunite Buffy with her family. The adventure moves along briskly?with clues to unravel, a hungry Fox to reckon with, etc.?but deeper issues permeate the story, from the first pages to the last. How does Sune come up with where Buffy's family is hiding from Fox? He makes a poem to clarify his thinking. (As Detective Gordon says: Maybe you can catch a thought that is inside you. ) What is the best action to take if one finds a hedgehog sleeping in the middle of a path? The young ones decide to wake her up and help her find a better place to sleep. ( Bravo?You don't need to go to the police for every little thing. You can simply be helpful. ) The future is bright for both the forest police and for readers hoping for the next installment. martha v. Parravano
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
January 1, 2019
In the fourth Detective Gordon entry, toad Gordon's protigi Buffy realizes that she doesn't know the fate of her mouse family she was separated from when coming to the forest. The detectives set off on an urgent mission, solve the case, and reunite Buffy with her family. The adventure moves along briskly, but deeper issues permeate the story. The future is bright both for the forest police and for readers hoping for another installment.
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
June 15, 2018
A very personal case for the detectives of the sweet little police station in the forest.Detective Buffy (a young mouse) and Detective Gordon (an old toad) handle nice, small cases like lost scarves and naughty, littering children in their forest district. When two students from the local kindergarten, a baby toad and a baby mouse, come to train as "small police," they mention their mothers so often that Buffy becomes sad. She doesn't remember hers. Detective Gordon encourages her to write poetry to remember, and her verse leads to memories of her past. The four head out to Cave Island to discover what happened to Buffy's newly remembered mother and siblings. The island is across a mountain and, of course, a bit of water--and there is a fox there to deal with...will he eat the police? Nilsson's fourth case for kind, wise (and tired) Detective Gordon and his cake-loving mouse prot�g�e is no less charming than its predecessors. Marshall's deft, homey translation and Spee's colorful, plentiful illustrations of anthropomorphic animals give the book the feel of a classic you just hadn't discovered until now. A good choice for family reading time or newly minted readers of chapters.A gentle, mothercentric mystery that couldn't be less threatening and a fine addition to the series. (Mystery. 6-10)
COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.