DETECTIVE DUCK: THE CASE OF THE MISSING TADPOLE

DETECTIVE DUCK: THE CASE OF THE MISSING TADPOLE by Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver. Illustrated by Dan Santat.

YELLOW LIGHT

AGES: K-3RD GRADE

I have to admit that I expected great things from this early chapter book read. After all, when I saw the names of the authors and illustrator, I was pretty sure it'd be a given that something good was about to happen.

The premise of the story is fine. Taddy, a tadpole, has gone missing, and Dogwood Pond is in a panic trying to find him. This is where Detective Duck and her friends in the Pond Squad enter in to begin solving the mystery. But that's not the only mystery happening. While hunting for Tad, the squad comes across a strange brown liquid flowing into the pond, and around it is an enormous group of blue-green algae that makes it difficult for the pond animals to breathe. Now, there are two good mysteries to solve.

HEADS UP- Where it started to go south for me- SPOILER ALERT- is when they find Tad and discover he's going through a life cycle change into a frog. No big deal, except he's a moody, and a little bit rude, teenager. Okay, maybe we consider that normal. I don't, but I'll pretend we do. Well, what finished this one off for me is when one of the characters says, "His attitude is making me so quacking mad." While that may seem cute or humorous, the last thing I want is for my child to start using slang words for f-bombs. No thank you! I'll be passing on adding this one to our home library.