King & Kayla and the Case of the Gold Ring

February 1, 2021

Gr 2-4-Dog and girl detective duo King and Kayla are playing in the snow with friend Mason building a snow fort when they are joined by Asia, who shows the group her newly acquired gold ring, a family heirloom she prizes. After a snowball fight, the group goes inside to warm up and drink cocoa, and Mom tosses their wet things in the dryer. When Asia realizes her precious ring is missing, the friends search everywhere. Did King eat the ring? Did it go down the drain? Is it outside buried in the snow? The trio list facts, then make an action plan, even going so far as to have Mom take apart the sink. Meanwhile, King interrogates the noisy crow outside, convinced that he is the culprit. In a fun twist, the narrative is told from the dog's perspective. King can understand the humans, although they cannot comprehend him, and he can also speak with the crow. King's inner monologues are hilarious and heartfelt as he tries to communicate his important detective observations with the humans in his life. Meyers depicts King in generously allotted colored sketches with articulated facial expressions. Highly entertaining, this funny and warm story contains life lessons for young readers about friendship, responsibility, and problem-solving. VERDICT This early chapter book, with five distinct sections, will serve as a terrific transition reader for those just beginning to delve into chapter book level reading. Recommended for juvenile fiction collections.-Lauren Younger, Univ. of Dallas Lib.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
The dynamic duo of lovable canine detective King and his human, Kayla, returns to solve another mystery. King and Kayla are playing in the snow with pal Mason when Asia, another friend, joins them, proudly displaying a special gold ring. After the cold forces them inside, Mom puts their wet outer garments in the dryer, and they're ready for snack time. When Asia discovers that her gold ring is gone, children and dog take the mystery seriously and go into search mode. They retrace their steps, examine every nook and cranny (with some help from Mom, who demonstrates her plumbing skills), and follow up every possibility as they put their well-honed problem-solving skills to the test. King has a few ideas of his own, but he's frustrated because even Kayla can't understand his doggie language. He winds up locked in the laundry room, where he spots something shiny in the dryer. The case is closed, to everyone's delight and relief. King narrates the tale with happy, enthusiastic aplomb, pausing the action frequently to note his many favorite things, mostly food. Butler keeps syntax and vocabulary simple, with brief sentences separated by lots of white space and organized in logical chapters. Meyers' cartoons illuminate the tale, depicting the body language and expressive faces of all the characters, human and canine, with great animation and adding many touches of humor. Asia, Kayla, and Kayla's mom present Black, and Mason presents White. Emergent readers will enjoy solving the mystery along with these delightful Sherlocks. (Early reader/mystery. 5-8)

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January 29, 2021
Grades 1-3 In this seventh installation of the King and Kayla series, for readers transitioning to chapter books, five brief chapters continue the story of Kayla and her mystery-solving pet, King, an appealing golden retriever with expressive eyes and cute mannerisms. This time around, Kayla, who is a Black girl, and her crew are playing in the snow when one of the friends loses a gold ring she got from her grandmother. But did she lose it outside, or was it when the kids went into Kayla's house to warm up? The ensuing mystery introduces concepts like retracing steps and making lists of ideas and even introduces the genre trope of a red herring--in this case, a crow, King's nemesis, who loves glittery things. King has to endure the classic plight of animals--how to get humans to understand what he's thinking--but eventually, his sharp eyes lead to a logical conclusion, and all ends well, with King the hero. Meyer's drawings, pleasant and simple to parse, help support the story. A satisfying addition to easy-reader collections.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2021
In "The Problem of Thor Bridge," Sherlock Holmes states this maxim of detecting: "We must look for consistency." With her seventh series entry about amateur investigators King (a dog) and Kayla (his human), Butler continues to follow Holmes's advice in the development of both plot and structure. This time, the two intrepid companions search for a missing ring, making a hypothesis and then either confirming or rejecting it through careful study of the facts. King narrates their adventure in his now-established animated voice that enthusiastically repeats familiar phrases: "I LOVE [insert King's place of the moment or what he's doing or eating]. It's my favorite thing!" Along with such familiar refrains, this book contains short chapters, natural language, and numerous digitally colored illustrations that mirror the text, giving newly independent readers a boost when navigating all those pages. As Kayla and her friends search the spots where they think the ring may have been dropped, King operates under his own theory. Although they don't have to, readers can test their individual problem-solving skills and crack this mystery before its heroes do. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2021
In "The Problem of Thor Bridge," Sherlock Holmes states this maxim of detecting: "We must look for consistency." With her seventh series entry about amateur investigators King (a dog) and Kayla (his human), Butler continues to follow Holmes's advice in the development of both plot and structure. This time, the two intrepid companions search for a missing ring, making a hypothesis and then either confirming or rejecting it through careful study of the facts. King narrates their adventure in his now-established animated voice that enthusiastically repeats familiar phrases: "I LOVE �insert King's place of the moment or what he's doing or eating]. It's my favorite thing!" Along with such familiar refrains, this book contains short chapters, natural language, and numerous digitally colored illustrations that mirror the text, giving newly independent readers a boost when navigating all those pages. As Kayla and her friends search the spots where they think the ring may have been dropped, King operates under his own theory. Although they don't have to, readers can test their individual problem-solving skills and crack this mystery before its heroes do.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)