Saxby Smart Private Detective

This gripping tale of a child private detective is hilarious, surprising, and a great deal of fun to read! Saxby Smart, a clever young boy, has a reputation for solving his classmates' mysteries from his very own Crime Headquarters—a shed in his backyard. He, along with his best friends, work to uncover mysterious acts of crime through research, logic, and determination.

I absolutely loved this book and, after only a few chapters, recommended it to my youngest brother in 5th grade. It made me laugh out loud and even stumped me with every mystery. I could not put it down!

In my opinion, this would be an incredible book to use with students and in my future classroom. For one, the series is divided by Saxby's several cases. Because each case is relatively short, I could see myself finding one that pertains to a topic in class and using it to engage students in a unique way.

Additionally, there are several stopping points throughout each case. These stopping points are highly interactive, as Saxby mentions he doesn't have a sidekick and leaves this job up to the reader. As clues accumulate throughout the case, Saxby finally poses a question such as "Have you worked it out?" to challenge the reader to solve the mystery independently. I can see myself conducting a read aloud from this book and challenging students to write about what they think might happen. They could even discuss the clues that have been discovered thus far with their peers and attempt to understand what they indicate will happen next.

This book can also double as an incredible vocabulary tool. Saxby is a witty and intelligent character that uses words that may be unfamiliar to students that are reading this novel. I think that it would be a great opportunity to incorporate the vocabulary the main character uses throughout the book into lessons in order for students to familiarize themselves with words in context.

Overall, I highly recommend this book—especially to students who enjoy books with cliffhangers, twists, turns, and surprises! It is an enjoyable read and the kind of series that a student would get "hooked" on.



Saxby Smart Private Detective in the Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files 
By: Simon Cheshire
Pictures by: R.W. Alley
Published in 2007