The Buried Bones Mystery

While this book is great for boys and girls, I think it's especially fun for boys. Ziggy is a cool, funny kid with quirky eating habits. His buddies are equally engaging and personable. Together, they have formed a little club called 'The Black Dinosaurs' and they seem to end up in the middle of mysteries, mysteries they just have to solve. The author has thrown in interesting little tidbits of history so the kids learn while enjoying themselves. In this episode, these city kids end up at an over-night camp, afloat in a canoe (without an oar) and running from.... something. My little grandson (5-but an excellent reader) is on his third Ziggy book. He really enjoys the fact that they are about boys. It's great to have a series for when he finishes one and wants another of the same. I think would be interesting for kids 4-9.

I had the pleasure of meeting the author, Ms. Draper, shortly before she was voted Teacher of the Year, and she shared her motivation for writing Ziggy: she wanted something for her African-American son to read that he'd enjoy. Well, he got it in this book. And, my second grade, white, boys and girls LOVE this book. It is a fast-moving mystery about Jamaican Ziggy and his crew of pals, their secret clubhouse, and some bones... The students get a kick out of the "Hey, mons" too! Well worth the 5 bucks. Buy it now!