Gr 1-2-This fifth entry in the series features a seaside city scene in which Jack feeds all of the pizza to seagulls despite his friend Bunny's protests. The hungry sleuths proceed to track down a missing lawn chair belonging to Ram-n, who owns a houseboat. Bunny and Jack check the boat's log for wind direction the last day the chair was seen, and track it to a dock where it cushions the sleep of a sloth, whose niece promises to return it in a few days when her aunt wakes up. Ram-n serves up chocolate-chip cookies in gratitude. Snappy dialogue and wry humor will inspire beginning mystery fans to decode the words in this case to its satisfying conclusion. Karas's humorous cartoon illustrations provide meaningful contextual support on every page. It will be no mystery when this book disappears from the beginning-to-read shelf.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In their fifth book, no-nonsense Bunny and playful Jack (two animal detectives) are having a picnic on the docks downtown when they meet Ramón, who's lost his lawn chair. Though simple deduction solves the case, Rylant's likable characters and their humorous interactions will surely please fans, and Karas's pencil, gouache, and acrylic cartoon illustrations bring the text to life. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bunny Brown and Jack Jones help Ramon find his missing lawn chair in The Case of the Sleepy Sloth by Cynthia Rylant, illus. by G. Brian Karas, the fifth title in the High-Rise Private Eyes series. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Jack and Bunny are back with a new case. Chums-Bunny is perhaps a tad on the bossy side, Jack perhaps shading into twerpdom-they have repaired to the dock to have their pizza. Bunny warns Jack not to feed the seagulls. "They'll just linger," Bunny says. But Jack can't help himself, and before long, the lingering seagulls eat the entire pizza. As Bunny gives Jack a hard look, they notice a dog, a "weird dog in yellow pants," mooching about on an adjacent dock. Curious, they approach the hound and learn he is Ramon, who dislikes earthquakes and has lost his lawn chair. Bunny and Jack unravel the case, which involves some meteorological sleuthing, and find the missing chair under the snoozing body of an old sloth, whose been sleeping in it since it blew in last Monday. Rylant has lots of fun with wordplay-" 'And what about that name?' said Jack. 'What name?' asked Bunny. 'Ruth,' said Jack. 'Ruth Sloth. It makes your tongue funny.' " Best is the verbal to-and-froing as these two banter and debate the scene, solving everything, including how to make a new reader laugh out loud. (Easy reader. 5-7)

Gr. 2^-4. "Case #005" is the latest in the High-Rise Private Eyes series. The introduction, "In a high-rise building deep in the heart of a big city live two private eyes: Bunny Brown and Jack Jones," strikes a no-nonsense, tough-guy chord, but there's plenty of hijinks in this beginner's mystery in which the two sleuths, a sensible bunny and a somewhat phobic raccoon, set out to solve a very small crime: this time an old lawn chair has mysteriously vanished from a dog's houseboat. The acrylic, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations give youngsters plenty to look at as the detectives meander around the docks. The goofy word play and generally aimless air may remind youngsters of SpongeBob SquarePants cartoons. --Connie Fletcher