The Case of the Superstar Scam (Book 10)

Description

The Milo & Jazz Mysteries stars two kid detectives-in-training who use STEM problem-solving skills as they race to unravel cases and save the day! Perfect for fans of Encyclopedia Brown, Cam Jansen and Nate the Great. When teen idol Starr Silveira comes to Westview to film an episode of her hit TV show, Super Starr, the entire town is abuzz. But when kids start receiving mysterious letters from "Starr" asking them to hand over their valuable show memorabilia, Milo and Jazz suspect one thing- a super scam!This ideal series for beginningreaders making the transition to chapter bookshas incredible Super Sleuthing activities in each book, including hidden pictures, puzzles, mini-mysteries, and quizzes-plus free online activities.

Lewis B. Montgomery is the pen name of a writer whose favorite authors include CSL, EBW, and LMM. Those initials are a clue-but there's another clue, too. Can you figure out their names? Lewis lives in eastern Pennsylvania and also writes under the pen names Eleanor May and Nan Walker. Amy Wummer has illustrated more than 50 children's books. Amy and her husband, who is also an artist, live in Pennsylvania.

The Milo & Jazz Mysteries: The Case of the Superstar Scam, Lewis B. Montgomery, 2013. Ages 7-11, 112 pp., $6.95 paper. ISBN 978-1-57565-519-2. The Kane Press; www.kanepress.com. Second- and third-grade students would love to follow Milo and Jazz, detectives in training, as they organize facts to solve mysteries in this fun and interesting book for young readers. A group of students, including Jazz's brother, are members of a fan club for the show Super Starr. When the show comes to their ordinary town, the Woofs, or Westview Fans of Super Starr, all receive mysterious letters. The letters inform them that if they turn in their commemorative limited-edition picks, which are identical to the ones that Starr uses in the show, they have a chance to appear on her show. Milo and Jazz do not understand why this opportunity would be offered to everyone, when only one person would be able to appear on the show. As they investigate, they use Venn diagrams to organize the facts and attempt to solve the problem. This book is great for demonstrating real-life uses of Venn diagrams, and it encourages the reader to draw conclusions and use logic. The suggested age level for the book is 7-11 years. Six- and seven-year-olds thought it was very exciting and could hardly wait to discover the truth. However, fifth graders lost interest quickly. The book has plenty of opportunities to have meaningful discussions that encourage students to problem solve and make judgments. This would be a wonderful addition to the library of a teacher who is looking to connect math and literacy objectives. However, the math content is minimal for the length of the book, and I would not recommend using it strictly to introduce Venn diagrams. Overall, it is a great read that kept young students' interest and had many teachable parts.--Brandilynn Picciano, New Century International Elementary, Fayetteville, North Carolina. -- "Journal" (4/1/2014 12:00:00 AM)