Book Review - Charlie and Frog

About the Book
All Charlie Tickler wants is for his parents to listen.

Charlie's parents have left him (again). This time they are off to South Africa to help giant golden moles. And Charlie? He's been dumped with his TV-obsessed grandparents. Lonely and curious, Charlie heads into the village of Castle-on-the-Hudson, where a frightened old woman gives him a desperate message-in sign language. When she suddenly disappears, Charlie is determined to find answers.

All Francine (aka Frog) Castle wants is to be the world's greatest detective.

Frog, who is Deaf, would rather be solving crimes than working at the Flying Hands Cafe . When Charlie Tickler walks into the cafe looking for help, Frog jumps at the chance to tackle a real-life case.

Together, Charlie and Frog set out to decipher a series of clues and uncover the truth behind the missing woman's mysterious message. Charlie needs to learn American Sign Language (fast) to keep up with quick-witted Frog. And Frog needs to gather her detective know-how (now) to break the case before it's too late.

Discover the surprising ways people listen in debut author Karen Kane's page-turning mystery filled with humor, intrigue, and heartwarming friendships.



My Take on the Book
This book is a mystery but it is also a story about a young boy named Charlie who is trying to find his place to live. His parents fly all over the world and he feels they do not really pay attention to him. He stays with his grandparents who love to just watch TV. It is not until he meets a deaf woman named Aggie that the mystery begins and he meets a young girl nicknamed Frog that he begins to feel part of a "family" and community.

Yes there is a mystery and the reader is brought through their investigations and their deciphering of the numbers and letters of a gravestone of a known and loved author of the town. 

There appears to be danger as two men, Dex and Ray, try to steal a book which holds a valued treasure. The treasure is not what they thought, but something that each person who puts it on, a knitted scarf, can learn to feel the power within them.

Charlie needs to learn sign language as Frog and her parents are deaf. But that knowledge and his friendship with Frog's family leads him to the life and education he was hoping for while his parents are still traveling. Charlie begins to develop a new relationship with his grandparents too as they watch less TV and pay more attention to him.

It is a good chapter book with many good values.
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