May 15, 2017
Mitzi Tulane, preschool detective, is back, and this time she's got helpers. Mitzi's friend Max is at her apartment on a play date, and muffins are on the snack menu. Mitzi is a black child with dark brown skin, and Max, with light, pinkish skin and blond hair, appears white like Mitzi's father and baby brother, Kev. When the friends get the muffins, Max warns Mitzi that her dad might've sneaked something into them: "Like...spinach," he whispers. Mitzi is aghast. Max speaks from experience, since his mother has indulged in such vegetable-hiding treachery, and Mitzi decides to investigate. When her magnifying glass can't provide conclusive evidence about a suspicious speck that may or may not be a vegetable, they sneak across the hall, past Mitzi's dad on the phone and the super (a white man called "Tall Dan"), to consult with science-loving Latino twins Juan and Juanita. A microscope is no help, but Bun Bun (their pet rabbit) gobbles up the crumb, leading everyone to conclude that it was a bit of carrot. Juanita writes up a report detailing the lapin expert witness's findings, which the friends share with Tall Dan as they head back to Mitzi's apartment, triumphant. McLaughlin's text is both funny and respectful of its protagonists, while Ohi's colorful, cartoon illustrations ramp up the humor in this story and add visual interest with setting details. A recipe for storytime fun. (Picture book. 3-5)
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April 1, 2017
PreS-Gr 1-Why would anyone put vegetables in a muffin? Young detectives will enjoy answering this question along with preschool detective Mitzi Tulane. At snack time, Mitzi and her friend Max suspect that Mitzi's father might have included an unusual ingredient in her muffin. Max reveals that his mother sometimes sneaks things like spinach into his food. When Mitzi discovers an unknown morsel in the muffin, she grabs her sidekick, Gigi Gaboo, and their investigation begins. These adorable sleuths make this a fun adventure in which all young listeners can participate. Unable to identify the object in the muffin using a magnifying lens, the detectives consult their two scientific friends in the next apartment. Eventually the morsel is identified by their rabbit, Bun Bun, who promptly eats it. The simple yet expressive illustrations help convey a rollicking good time. VERDICT A great preschool read-aloud for any situation.-Susan Small, Salve Regina University Library, Newport, RI
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 2017
Preschool-G In her second case, Mitzi Tulane is confronted with a muffina muffin her pal Max thinks might have something healthy in it. Could such a horrible thing be true? Mitzi and Max head over to their friends' Juan and Juanita's apartment, where the twins have a little lab with microscopes and petri dishes. Juanita has a surefire method to discover what's in the muffin: she feeds her pet bunny a tiny crumb and, after he eats it, deduces (somehow) that the muffin is made with carrots. The intended audience probably won't know or care that rabbits like carrots, or for that matter, that they nibble other fruits and vegetables, too. What they will like is this cast of smart, multiethnic sleuths, who are able to figure out that parents can be sneaky when it comes to putting healthy stuff into food. Simply shaped characters and objects pop off the pages, and there is humor in both the art and the text. Looks like Mitzi will be on another case soon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2018
In her second investigative case, Mitzi receives help from friends in the apartment building in determining whether her dad is sneaking vegetables into muffins. They collect evidence, examine it, and test their theory (it's carrots!). Subtle humor highlights preschoolers' ways of thinking in a relatable fashion that avoids being cloying. Expressive, black-outlined color illustrations depict a multiethnic community and emphasize a love of science.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)