Renee Hand, the creative mastermind behind The Crypto-Capers, has just released the first book in her new children’s detective series, The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut & Biscuit Bill. This series, which is aimed at children in early elementary grades, is about animal detectives Joe-Joe Nut (squirrel) and Biscuit Bill (duck), who solve crimes in Acorn Valley.
In Case #1: The Great Pie Catastrophe, Miss Cluck’s Blueberry Pie that she planned to enter into a contest at the 42nd Annual Pie Festival has been stolen. Joe-Joe and Nut and Biscuit Bill are called in to investigate and the hunt soon begins as they follow different sets of animal tracks to uncover clues. Will Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill find the culprit before the judging begins?
I was so excited to receive this book in the mail. I’m a big fan of The Crypto-Capers, so I had high hopes for Hand’s new series. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Young readers are encouraged to use their deduction and reasoning skills to solve the crime alongside the two detectives. They are immediately drawn in by the storyline and the book’s quirky characters.
As with human detectives who work alongside each other, Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill talk about things other than the case, like Joe-Joe Nut’s inability to cook. Moments like these bring humor to the story and make these characters fun to follow around.
While I love the front cover on this book, I think the back cover is even better, with the potential suspects lined up against a wall as if they were in a police line-up. Also included are some animal facts and a quick quiz that asks readers to identify which animal the tracks on page 41 belong to.
If the rest of the books in this series are as fun and educational as The Great Pie Catastrophe, the author will have another winning series on her hands. I can’t wait for Book 2!
Readers can visit the Joe-Joe Nut Series portion of the author’s website for some free coloring pages.
Rating: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
- Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.
- ISBN-10: 0-87839-351-X
- ISBN-13: 978-0-87839-351-0
- SRP: $9.95*
* Also available in a Kindle edition.
The Children's and Teens' Book Connection 
Sounds like a really exciting book for the youngsters! Great review, Cheryl!
I have been looking forward to this book, Renee has been a guest on my show and I loved chatting to her and hearing about her books. Thank you so much for sharing
Thank you so much,Cheryl, for reviewing book 1 of my Joe-Joe Nut Series. I greatly appreciate it. Thanks everyone for commenting!
Renee
Cute! Love the names, Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill.
How cute! Sounds like a great kids book.
Thanks for stopping by everyone.
Renee is a good writer, so the new series should appeal to lots of kids.
Looks like a cute series!
Hey, thanks for reviewing the book, any chance of having the devilishly awesome illustrator interviewed? Who is that masked man anyway?
Only if you tell me that Carwash is really your last name? 🙂
It isn’t. But it’s easier for people to remember, that’s for sure!
Pingback: The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill – Case #2: Mineral Mischief by Renee Hand « The Children's and Teens' Book Connection