Clarion Books, 1992
“Sparkling with bright colors and likable characters, this read-aloud is as fresh as a spring breeze.” — ALA Booklist
“With colorful, amusingly expressive illustrations and a snappy text, this makes a simple but satisfying introduction to a popular genre…” — Kirkus Reviews
The Story:
Gertrude B. Dog likes mysteries so much that she decides to become a detective. “But this is a quiet town,” say her neighbors, Roger and Mabel, “You won’t find any mysteries around here.”
But Gertrude hangs up a sign, “Detective for Hire”, and then starts to practice her detective skills on Roger and Mabel; following them, eavesdropping on their conversations and snooping on them with her new super-detective binoculars. Roger and Mabel are so annoyed they plant fake clues to get her to snoop elsewhere. Gertrude falls for the bait and—guess what?—stumbles on a real crime!
The illustrations:
The black line is made with a Hunt’s point pen. The color is gouache with a little Prismacolor pencil and watercolor crayon here and there.
