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"A to Z Mysteries: White House White-Out" by Ron Roy

Author:

Ron Roy

Publisher:

Random House, New York, 2008

Reviewed by:

Kristine Wildner, Holy Apostles School, New Berlin, WI

Ron Roy hits the mark with his newest mystery for early chapter book readers. The third of his “Super Edition” books, Roy’s Capital Mystery characters meet the detectives from the A-Z Mysteries. It’s the Christmas season and the White House is full of decorators. K.C. (the president’s stepdaughter) and Marshall are playing when they discover that the president’s dog, Natasha, is missing. After searching with Josh, Dink and Ruth Rose, the children discover the dog boxed in a crate inside a decorator’s van. Suddenly, they find themselves victims of the kidnapper themselves; trapped in the same van and driven into the country. When an accident stops the van, the children find the driver unconscious and manage to escape. With little storyline creativity, it becomes only a matter of time before the kidnappers are caught.

With a hidden message, fun illustrations and relatively short chapters, the book is a fun, light read. The plot, like others in the series, is simplistic – reminding me of an old Scooby-Doo episode. Like it or not, this series and those with similar formats are extremely popular with children in primary grades. As a child reads one book, he or she enjoys the characters and story, and longs to read more in the series. Although well-below my own 10-year old’s reading level, he picked up this book immediately and read is straight through in less than an hour. There is an important place for “just fun” books in every home and library – a place where reading requires no deep thinking or analysis. This is the place where our readers grow in their confidence, and the pure love and fun of reading. Recommended for students in grades 1-3.