The Mystery of the Burmese Bandicoot

the author herself recommended this book to me after i emailed her telling her how much my third grade boys' book club enjoyed her Crazy Eddie and the Science Project of Doom. The kids are spellbound when we're reading this book aloud. We've talked about how the great word choices and alliteration help the reader visualize what's happening. My students even made a connection between this book and The Tale of Despereaux in noticing the edges of the pages look "chewed on," as if mice have been nibbling at the pages. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I thought it was funny they noticed that detail! I love her work.

This book is about two brother rats, pets in Mrs. Dove's class. My daughter chose the book because the book's book's cover. She felt it looked interesting and she wanted to know more about the story. Her favorite scene was when the albatross flew them to San Francisco. She was amazed that an albatross could fly them that far. Her least was when Ishbu was kidnapped by the Bilgiwater Brigade during their stay at the inn. She didn't like it when they woke up and were separated. Also the lady mouse gave them sleeping drugs. Her favorite character what Frederick. He was smart, brave, and cunning.

Kids ages 10 and older will appreciate a mystery revolving around brave Frederick and hungry Ishbu, rat brothers who live in a cage in a 5th grade classroom. They learn much with the class, but when a class bully threatens them, the two flee the school to discovery the outside world - and a mysterious statue from a strange new world. A fine animal mystery evolves.