The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope

(Third-Grade Detectives #1)

by
George E. Stanley

illustrated by

Salvatore Murdocca

Scholastic, April 2002, 62 pp.
ISBN: 0-439-41288-9

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenre: Mystery
Reviewed: 1/23/2004

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"I have a mystery," Amber Lee said.

"What's your mystery?" Mr. Merlin asked.

Amber Lee stood up.

She waved an envelope at everyone.

"This came for me in the mail yesterday," she said. "I want to know who sent it."

"What does it say?" Mr. Merlin asked.

Amber Lee took a letter out of the envelope and started reading.

"'Dear Amber Lee, you are the smartest girl in the word.' It's  signed: 'An Admirer,'"

She looked at Mr. Merlin.

"If I knew who sent it," she said, "I could say thank you."

Mr. Merlin smiled.

Noelle rolled her eyes at Todd.

"That's not a mystery," she whispered. "Amber Lee probably sent that letter to herself."

Todd nodded in agreement.
 

Synopsis
Looking forward to the first day of third grade, Noelle is shocked when she sees a new teacher standing in front of the chalkboard. Mr. Merlin has replaced Mrs. Trumble. Noelle's best friend, Todd, confides to Noelle that he heard the Mr. Merlin used to be a spy. Mr. Merlin soon confesses that he was a spy and they were going to solve a lot of mysteries during the school year.

Amber Lee, a girl that Noelle doesn't like too much says that she has a mysterious letter from a secret admirer. Mr. Merlin begins to teacher his students how to solve secret codes and how to think like a detective. Thus, Noelle and Todd begin their search for the writer of the letter.

The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope is the first book in the Third-Grade Detective series by George R. Stanley. The book is illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca. This story is intended for early chapter book readers in 3rd to 4th grade. The writing is perfect for young readers as there are not a lot of difficult words. This is a fictional story about a classroom of third grade students trying to solve a mystery.
 

Review

My daughter read this book to me and quite enjoyed trying to figure out the secret codes in The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope. The lead character, Noelle, is a completive girl who only wants to beat Amber Lee in solving the mystery. She is really funny and the children that read this story will really like her, even though they may have trouble figuring out how to pronounce her name.

The story is quite light and a fun read and should be enjoyed by all third graders.

Overall, I would recommend The Clue of the Left-Handed Envelope to any young reader that likes a good mystery.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

This site was created and is maintained by Conan Tigard
2004