Anisha, Accidental Detective: School's Cancelled

Name: Anisha, Accidental Detective: School's Cancelled
Author: Serena Patel

by Serena Patel

Ages 7–10 Reading age 8 Short chapters Set in school funnyadventurous

The school trip is off, the money has vanished, and Anisha would like to know which of the grown-ups is lying about it.

A story about children, funny and adventurous in tone. We would put it with children of 7–10, and at a reading age of about 8 for reading alone.

Nothing flagged

We have not flagged any content in this one that a parent would usually want warning about.

Part of a series

This is book 2 of the Anisha, Accidental Detective series, so there is more to read if it goes down well — which is worth a great deal with a reluctant reader.

Our take on this book

The school trip has been cancelled, the money that was supposed to pay for it has vanished, and Anisha — who would honestly rather be doing science experiments — finds herself working out which of the grown-ups is not telling the truth. Serena Patel writes a bright, fast, funny detective series with a likeable, science-minded heroine and a big, chaotic, warmly drawn British Asian family around her. It is short-chaptered and generously illustrated, pitched squarely at a child who has just got the hang of chapter books and wants a proper mystery they can solve alongside the sleuth. There is nothing frightening here; the stakes are school-sized and the tone stays cheerful throughout. For a seven- to ten-year-old this is an inviting, laugh-along whodunit with a heroine who is clever without being a know-all, and part of a series that reliably turns newly independent readers into eager ones.