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Space DetectivesMark Powers
Space Detectives
by Mark Powers
Two boys set up a detective agency on a space station and land their first case when the station's artificial sun keeps going out.
A story about children, funny and adventurous in tone. We would put it with children of 6–9, and at a reading age of about 7 for reading alone.
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Our take on this book
Aboard the enormous space station Starville, junior detectives Connor and Ethan take on their first case when someone sabotages the station and sets it on a collision course — and only two quick-witted kids stand between the passengers and disaster. Mark Powers writes a fast, funny, gadget-filled sci-fi mystery pitched perfectly at a newly independent reader: short chapters, plenty of Dapo Adeola's lively illustrations, daft alien characters and a proper whodunit to solve. The peril is entirely of the exciting, comic sort, with nothing to frighten. For a six- to nine-year-old who likes space, jokes and a mystery to crack, it is an inviting, high-energy read — the kind of book that makes a child feel like a real detective while zipping past on laughs and action. A bright, accessible series-opener that works especially well for a reader who needs momentum and humour to stay hooked, and it sets up plenty more cases to come.
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Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
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