A field trip to the planetarium goes awry when Dontel's technically correct picture of a working rocket is stolen. Can Smashie solve the trickiest mystery yet?
Smashie McPerter and her classmates from Room 11 are going on a field trip to the planetarium! Nobody is more excited than Smashie's best friend, Dontel, who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist. In fact, Dontel has even created an accurate drawing of a working rocket, piloted by his and Smashie's favorite action figure, Brainyon. In a surprise move, Dontel's grandmother, who's chaperoning, brings the rocket drawing with her to enter into the planetarium's science contest. But in a shocking turn of events, the drawing goes missing before they get there! Smashie is on the case (luckily she brought an array of interesting hats to help get into character). But the suspect list keeps growing—prankster Billy, who prefers the Haddock over Brainyon; tight-lipped Tatiana, who's wearing a NASA T-shirt; and . . . Smashie herself? Nobody is above suspicion in this third hilarious and clever Smashie McPerter mystery.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 13, 2022 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781536211832
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781536211832
- File size: 91745 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 1, 2021
Gr 1-3-In this third book in the series, Smashie and best friend Dontel Marquise are now in third grade and still solving mysteries at Rebecca Lee Crumpler Elementary School. Griffin provides plenty of background to help readers easily follow the mysteries waiting to be solved in Smashie's and Dontel's latest adventure, a class field trip to the Stephen Hawking Planetarium. But on the road to the planetarium, mysteries like a missing space-related snack, Dontel's stolen drawing of a space rocket, and the discovery of the story of Smashie's "real" name start piling up. Even Smashie and Dontel's friendship gets strained, and young readers may wonder if it is irrevocably broken. Throughout the story, Griffin explains scientific words like pneumatics, nebulae, and constellations, describing in detail what a trip to a planetarium is really like. Hindley's black-and-white line drawings illustrate key plot points and showcase the diversity of Griffin's characters. Smashie is white with brown hair, while Dontel has brown skin and curly black hair. The story is fast-paced, the chapters are filled with appealing characters, and potentially unfamiliar words are clearly explained. VERDICT A recommended purchase to round out the series that can also be enjoyed as a stand alone. Young readers will be happily caught up in the duo's latest mystery.-Cheryl Blevens, Cunningham Memorial Lib., Indiana State Univ.
Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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September 1, 2021
Smashie and Dontel return for their most convoluted case yet. Room 11 is going to the planetarium today, and Smashie, Dontel, and their grandmothers have prepared a special "space-related snack" for the trip. But during morning meeting, Dontel's grandmother--who, along with Smashie's grandmother and Mr. Bloom, the head custodian and an avid astronomer, will be chaperoning--shows off Dontel's "technically correct drawing of a space rocket" to the admiring amazement of everyone--except Dontel, who doesn't want it shown. When Ms. Early announces that the best friend of Dontel's hero, Dr. Cornelius duVasse Bryson, will be at the planetarium, well, Smashie just knows she needs to sneak Dontel's drawing along to show Dr. Bryson's friend. But before they even leave, someone steals the snack, and on the bus, Smashie realizes Dontel's drawing has been stolen too! Griffin's characters are adorably earnest, gravely enunciating space-related snack over and over, so seriously do they take both the treat and its theft, and Smashie's agonies of regret at her subterfuge are believable and endearing. The whole is related in a sophisticated style that trusts its readers to keep up all the way to the incredibly sweet, Christie-worthy resolution. Smashie is White, Dontel is Black, and Room 11 is racially diverse. Final illustrations not seen. A welcome return! (Mystery. 7-10)COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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