Ick and Crud: Mystery in the Barn

Reviewed by: Jan Hamilton - Little Dolphin School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 12, 2018

Review

With a copyright date of 2018 by Red Chair Press this new series is sure to make a hit with confident early readers. Ick and Crud: Mystery in the Barn is the second in four recently released early chapter titles. With a stage of farm animals what could go wrong when two dogs decide to jump a fence? Once past the puddle they are faced with Miss Puffy who purrs that something big is about to happen. And so the mystery begins leading readers into a scary barn, introducing them to various animals and offering a game of hide and seek.

There is enough action to keep the attention of readers with content guaranteed to make them laugh. The back cover indicates that 1,000 to 1,500 words are contained in each book of the series. That information and the character identification page are helpful to reader and parents. The story is successful in short chapters and the illustrations are attractive. Primary grade teachers will want the paper copy in their room collections and public libraries who collect early chapter books should purchase the series with the library bindings.

Overall Book Score: very good