  | Mac undercover. #1 (Mac B, kid spy) Author: Barnett, Mac | |
| Price: $19.58 | ||
Summary:
One day, Mac (smartest boy in his class in a small town in California) receives a telephone call from the Queen of England, recruiting him to find the crown jewels (well, actually just the Coronation Spoon) and so Mac embarks on his first adventure as a secret agent--with the assurance that the Queen will give him a note excusing him from school.
| Illustrator: | Lowery, Mike |
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| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 3.70 Points: 1.0 Quiz: 197677 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 2.50 Points: 5.0 Quiz: 75774 | |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (06/15/18)
School Library Journal (+) (07/01/18)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/09/18)
The Hornbook (00/09/18)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 07/01/2018 Gr 3–6—Barnett and Lowery bring the funny to the serious art of espionage in a perfect interplay of text and illustration. Barnett, known for his award-winning picture book collaborations with Jon Klassen (The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse; Sam and Dave Dig a Hole), slyly premises this "childhood memoir" by explaining how he works as an author, i.e. someone who gets to make stuff up. Young readers will not get too hung up on the ins and outs of truth vs. fiction as young Mac B., kid spy, ventures from his home in California to England to fulfill a secret mission for the Queen. Along the way, he loses his Game Boy on the plane, suspects the KGB, talks crumpets vs. cookies with her Majesty, teams up with Freddie the corgi, steals art from the Louvre, and learns he reached a higher score on SpyCraft than the King of France. Throughout, Barnett interweaves tidbits of global history fit for trivia lovers, while Lowery's comic-style images play a key role in the humor, from imagining why the Mona Lisa smiles, to depicting the Queen with goofy unicorn pajamas, and topping it off with an ending page bound to provoke giggles. VERDICT Told with a sense of nostalgia for 1980s history and pop culture, the silliness and originality of this book will hook young readers.—Jennifer Gibson, Keuka College, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
