The Flintstones:

Detective Fred Flintstone

by
Dana Snow

Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc., 1978, 96 pp.
ISBN: ???

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenre: TV Tie-In / Cartoon
Reviewed: 4/22/2004

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"Which one of you is Perry Gunnite?"

"He's Mr. Gunnite's assistant," said Barney.

"I see," said the rich lady, "and who are you?"

"I'm Barney, I'm his assistant!"

"I see," said the rich lady, "and who is YOUR assistant?"

"I don't have an assistant," said Barney.

"I know," said the rich lady studying her fingernails. "It's so hard to get good help these days! Now should I tell my problem to you?"

"Well, actually Perry and I should both be here," said Fred.

"Don't be so modest, Fred," said Barney. "Listen. My pal Fred will solve whatever problem you have, lady. He's not as stupid as he looks!"

"Thanks a lot, Barney," said Fred.

"Don't mention it, Fred," said Barney.

Synopsis

Earlier that day, a man had come in to report that his Fire Ruby had been stolen. Gunnite said that he would take the job and find the Fire Ruby. When Gunnite goes out on a job, and Barney drops by for a visit, a rich woman comes in and announces that a rather large gem, called the Fire Ruby, has been stolen. She does not realize that her husband has already visited Gunnite and hired him to find the gem.

Barney assumes that Fred is now a detective and says that they will take the job. Donning disguises, Fred and Barney walk into a bar on the waterfront where criminals are known to hang out. They are hoping to find out some information about the stolen Fire Ruby. Little do they know that the thief is in the bar with them and he is watching their every move.

The Flintstones: Detective Fred Flintstone is a book based on the hit Hanna Barbera animated television show called "The Flintstones." The book is written by Dana Snow, even though it does not state it anywhere in the book. This story is intended for early chapter book readers in 2nd to 4th grade. On even left-hand page is the text and on every right-hand page is a full-page picture, which helps early readers picture what is going on.

Review

My daughter picked up The Flintstones: Detective Fred Flintstone at a thrift store. She instantly read it and enjoyed it. She said that I needed to read it and review it. I did and found it to be a good story. But I also have a history of watching The Flintstones while growing up while my daughter does not know the show.

I found the story to be a fairly good rendition of Fred and Barney and enjoyed the story. The font is quite large and the style of writing is simple. I did enjoy having the picture on every other page, as I am sure other kids will too.

The only problem with this book is that it does not have an ISBN and I could not find it on Amazon. It appears to be out of print, so the only place you are going to find it is at garage sales or thrift stores.

I rated this book a 7 out of 10.