The Missing Zucchini — L.M. Falcone

Zeeta and Zelda Zamboni are beside themselves when they call the Monroe Detective Agency. "Our most prized possession has been stolen!" the sisters announce. "Will you help us? Please?" Max agrees to help them find their missing possession, and then he finds out what it is: a two-hundred-pound zucchini! Looking for a zucchini is "sure to be duller than dirt," Max thinks. However, once he and Uncle Larry (the ghost) start digging around for clues, they discover this new case is actually full of interesting possibilities. In fact, the Zamboni sisters have some awfully suspicious neighbors. The big question is, will Max and Uncle Larry manage to solve the mystery and locate the giant zucchini in time to enter it in the Harvest Fair's vegetable competition?

Award-winning author L. M. Falcone has created a terrific early chapter book series with an appealing detective duo and laugh-out-loud dialogue. The segmented chapters, short sentences and humorous dialogue make the book easily digestible for newly independent readers, and the illustrations throughout bring the fast-moving story, with its assortment of oddball characters, to life. While having a ghost as one of the main characters gives this series a unique edge, Uncle Larry's childlike enthusiasm and chronic absentmindedness make him anything but scary. This book is sure to be a popular choice for free reading, particularly for boys. The series provides a great introduction to the mystery genre, perfect for honing critical-thinking and observation skills.