Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop [Hardcover]

Who stole the featured item for the talent show? Secret codes and crazy schemes are in play as Smashie and best friend Dontel put their thinking powers to work.

When the third-graders of Room 11 learn that they all must take part in a musicale, Smashie can’t wait to sing something heartfelt andloud. But the others are not so eager. Luckily, Charlene’s mom has agreed to donate her special gel that lengthens and sculpts hair into shapes (from a musical note to a roller skate), and soon, with the help of some retro sixties go-go dancing, all the kids are raring to go. That is, until their jars of goop go missing! Who would steal their beloved Herr Goop, and why? Time for Smashie and her best friend, Dontel, to get out their Investigation Notebooks! Discussions of motives and perps, hasty mis-accusations and apology brownies, a math lesson used to crack a mysterious code, and more than a few choice red herrings build up to a truly hilarious madcap finale. Starring a quirky and relatable heroine, a level-headed sidekick, and an appealing group of good kids, this entertaining and lighthearted mystery may well have readers donning their own Investigator Suits.The story is paced well, and the plot is strong enough to intrigue a variety of readers...the series offers positive lessons and activities that teachers and librarians can incorporate in the classroom. The use of mathematical codes and investigative lingo and the slight mystery will make this a good book for a beginning-of-the-year read-aloud in a third or fourth grade classroom.
—School Library Journal

Classroom dynamics and a diverse cast add a realistic element to this fast-paced tale of go-go dancing, rapid bilingual alphabetization, and general mayhem.
—Booklist Online

Griffin concocts a baroque plot involving a secret code credibly based on third-grade math and tells it with SAT-level vocabulary. She contextualizes that vocabulary carefully, sequel,