(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Ziyue Chen. Mirabelle, a goldfinch with a sparkling personality, narrates this engaging music-focused mystery con brio. She attributes her excellent taste in music to listening through the window to a world-renowned pianist, and she's intrigued by his unappreciative, sulky new student, Michael. When Michael finally tries out the piano, she can't resist singing along with him to Chopin's Minute Waltz: "It's as if the song is singing me... m I still made of bones and skin and feathers? No. I am only song." Mirabelle's singing inspires Michael, and the two continue their duets as Michael prepares for a Chopin contest. Broach skillfully incorporates bits of bird lore and information about both Chopin (including the macabre story of his heart) and his life partner, George Sand. As in Broach's previous books Masterpiece (rev. 11/08) and Shakespeare's Secret, a historic object is missing--this time, Chopin's piano. The pace is brisk, and Mirabelle faces multiple dilemmas (beyond her secret duets), involving newly hatched siblings, a dangerous cat, and a desperately ill man. Broach gives her heroine true self-determination and emotional growth, as the little bird ponders her situation: "What's the difference between a secret and a lie? A secret probably feels like a lie to someone who loves you." A final note sorts out historical fact from fiction.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Barclay. A boy persuades his mother to get him a puppy. Things go so well, the puppy decides it needs a pet: a kitten...who adopts a bird...who adopts a worm... Finally, with satisfying circularity, a flea adopts the puppy. Warm, funny cartoon illustrations help predict each new arrival and reinforce the book's most valuable point: "Whenever you take care of something, that something takes care of you."

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) 1-3 Masterpiece Adventures series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Unconventional friends James (a human boy) and Marvin (a beetle) head to school. Artist Marvin is especially enthusiastic about meeting art teacher Mr. Chang. Told from a beetle's-eye point of view, their day is all fun and games until Marvin accidentally winds up in the garbage. Short, punchy sentences; lively pen-and-ink drawings; and large type make the book accessible to new chapter-book readers.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Alice Ratterree. In this mystery-adventure, twelve-year-old zookeeper's daughter Lizzie discovers that a boy, Tyler, is living in the zoo. Despite Tyler's gruff demeanor, they become friends. When the zoo's wolves begin to mysteriously get sick right after Tyler notices odd comings and goings at night, they work together to solve the mystery. Lizzie's wry humor and the page-turning adventure give the novel solid middle-grade appeal.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(2) 1-3 Masterpiece Adventures series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. Beetle Marvin is going collecting in the Pompadays' apartment, where the beetles live behind a kitchen cupboard. When Uncle Albert is accidentally cut by a pair of nail scissors, Marvin enlists the aid of his best friend, human James. Broach, aided by Murphy's frequent black-and-white illustrations, has created another story that beginning chapter-book readers can read and also want to read.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(2) 1-3 Masterpiece Adventures series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. A new early chapter book series follows the friendship of beetle Marvin and human James (Masterpiece) for a younger audience. The sentences are shorter and the illustrations more prominent, but the amiable tone and relatable characters are the same. New readers will be rewarded by this page-turning adventure, written throughout with emotional authenticity and ending with a satisfying conclusion.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Olga Ivanov & Aleksey Ivanov. In this trilogy-ender (Missing on Superstition Mountain; Treasure on Superstition Mountain), Henry, Simon, Jack, and their friend Delilah follow clues left by adventurous Uncle Hank and learn the steep cost of taking gold from the sacred mountain: death! As Superstition Mountain exacts revenge against greedy treasure hunters, Broach's young adventurers cleanly tie together the series' mysteries, lauding adventure, courage, and risk-taking as the ultimate treasure.

Reviewer: Andrea Curtis

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Antonio Javier Caparo. This sequel to Missing on Superstition Mountain begins weeks after Simon, Henry, Jack, and Delilah's last dangerous adventure, with the characters returning to the mountain to search for the Lost Dutchman's Mine and buried gold. Packed with mysteries (many of which aren't solved here), this book slowly builds intrigue, and readers will look toward the next installment in the series.

Reviewer: Andrea Curtis

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Antonio Javier Caparo. The three Barker boys come upon three human skulls on Superstition Mountain. Aided by their friend Delilah, the boys spend a few exciting summer days trying to solve the mystery. The main characters are nicely differentiated, the desert landscape of the (real-life) Superstition Mountains is well evoked, and there's lots of appeal in the kids' secret forays.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Richard Egielski. On safari in Africa, Peter's adventures--he swings Tarzan-on-a-vine style from a snake, he gets a piggyback ride from a gorilla, etc.--aren't noticed by oblivious Uncle Nigel, whose maxim is "All it takes is a bit of gumption." It's a good yarn with, unfortunately, an anticlimactic ending. Droll illustrations feature tree-branch-like frames that become overgrown with plant life as pages turn.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Kelly Murphy. James's eleventh birthday party is so depressing, Marvin, a beetle, can't resist making him a present. The cityscape Marvin draws is mistaken for James's work, leading to an unlikely friendship, and the two are soon embroiled in the world of art forgery and theft. Their derring-do adventures and ethical conundrums grow organically from a remarkable friendship and make for an engrossing story.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Small. From the moment the triceratops bursts out of the bakery’s back room ("buy a dozen, get a dinosaur"), this very tall tale grabs readers’ attention. Small's energetic watercolor and ink illustrations are a perfect choice for such an absurdist dream-come-true for dinosaur fans. Kids will go wild for this story of dinosaurs as suburban pets.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Abby Carter. When John announces that his disruptive little sister has to go, their mother starts packing the baby's suitcase. To the reader's surprise, she does indeed give away the baby--to Grandma for the day. In a deft touch, Carter's comical watercolors don't feature the mother's face until the last spread: she has recognized John's unspoken need for some Mom time.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. A dog keeps finding new places to shake out his wet fur; each time he gets shooed away he cheerfully moves on to the next victims, all of whom have something to do with a wedding. The too-wordy text encroaches on the caricatured art, but only a scrooge wouldn't appreciate the seemingly punch-drunk dog and the book's giddy, cathartic ending.

Reviewer: Nell Beram