Review: Maisy and the Missing Mice

Title: Maisy and the Missing Mice
Author: Elizabeth Woodrum
Publisher: Createspace
Release Date: October 2013
Length: 75 pages
Series?: The Maisy Files #1
Genre: Middle Grades

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon 

Maisy Sawyer is not your average fourth grade student. She is a detective with a special skill for solving mysteries. She loves black and white mystery movies, cherry lollipops, and her dog, Reesie. When a thief known as The Black Boot steals the school’s mascots and her lollipops, Maisy sets out to solve the case. Can she help return the mice to their home in the science lab? Will she ever see her beloved lollipops again? Find out in the first book in The Maisy Files series.

***** Review *****

Maisy is one cherry lollipop-loving girl. Everyone knows it, too. That’s what made it so easy for The Black Boot to loot her stash and use it as leverage.

Maisy has a knack for detective work. She prefers cherry lollipops as payment. When she’s on a case, things fade to black and white, like in the old mystery movies. This time, someone has stolen the school’s unofficial mascots: the mice from the science room.

The only clue to go on is a black boot. When the announcement is made, Maisy is set to solve it…only The Black Boot strikes again. The cherry lollipops disappear out of her locker.

Maisy begins investigating. She records everything and creates timelines. The Black Boot must be a fourth or fifth grader, given the timeline.

Then The Black Boot strikes yet again, except this time he wants to silence Maisy and scare her off the case.

And nobody got away with stealing Maisy’s cherry lollipops.

I loved the writing of this short middle grades book. It was perfect for the Maisy, in terms of her age as a narrator and in terms of her personality. Maisy is indeed one very good detective. She’s also a really good kid, kind and generous.

I highly recommend The Maisy Files to young MG readers. It is highly engaging and relatable. It is also a great way to present problem solving skills to readers.