Reviews

Big Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale

jlaz's review against another edition

4.0

Read this as a read aloud to one of my second grade classes. They really enjoyed it and it kept their attention over multiple days.

caiken4's review against another edition

4.0

I read this with my kids before bed. It was very cute and funny. It is a YHBA book and my oldest is doing Battle of the Books this year so we all read it. Quick pace and easy plot line.

katereads2much's review against another edition

3.0

Wolfgang has been framed, but no one will believe him. The Captain of the Guard makes Wolf a deal. If Wolf can catch the culprit by sundown he won't have to spend the rest of his life in the dungeon eating porridge. Could it have been the neighbor? Or perhaps Goldilocks? Maybe Cinderella did it to get back at her ex.

Can the Wolf clear his name? Will he ever make a friend?

I enjoyed this cute, amusing story that puts all those tales of the Big Bad Wolf on their heads.

abigailbat's review against another edition

3.0

There is trouble in Fairylandia. The three little pigs' houses have been trashed and all fingers point to the Big Big Wolf, even though he is innocent. Can Mr. Wolf find the real culprit in time to avoid being put in jail?

This is a cute, funny mystery story for fans of fairy tale retellings. It also maybe has a thread of social justice running through the story - everyone assumes Mr. Wolf is guilty since he has a bad reputation. This is not a proportional sentence for his crime and it's based almost solely on the fact that he looks like a bad guy. HMMMMMM.

Maybe just a fun, fairy tale read, but possibly a story that will start some deeper conversations.

krismarley's review against another edition

2.0

Not a big fan of the fairy tale mashup. But love Bruce Hale! What a great guy.

kristendv's review against another edition

4.0

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this book. It's a great way to get reluctant readers to read. It was witty and clever. It added humor and alternate perspectives on traditional characters. I would have loved to have this available when my son (the quintessential reluctant reader) was little. He would have appreciated the humor. Traditional fairytales made him yawn, but this would have had him giggling uncontrollably.

naomiysl's review against another edition

3.0

Good solid fun! I could have done without the hints of transphobic misogyny in having the wolf dress in granny's clothing for a laugh, but given that the rest of the story is great I think that's something to talk about with your young reader and not something that should keep this book out of anybody's hands.

sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition

4.0

This was a fun read. It is definitely the set up to a larger series, so there was a lot of exposition and introduction to each of the characters. I kind of wish that it had focused on a couple less of the outside characters as parts felt underdeveloped and rushed, but at the same time, the nature of the story made it work well to introduce all of the Fairylandians. I'd definitely check out new books in the series.

everydayreading's review

2.0

Kind of lame - I was reading it aloud to my four-year-old and she lost interest about 3/4 of the way through (I couldn't blame her). I read the last couple of chapters on my own just to finish it.