“Inspector” Dewey is a clever cat. In this sweet children’s story, he reveals how he solved the crime that gained him the title “Hero of Hampshire.”
Dewey is a curious cat, the “first feline” who lives with his three friends – Lily, Thumper and Anna. Anna is his human who shares their peaceful and happy life with the three cats. One night, the four friends are awakened from their sleep by a noise. It’s an old pick up truck with a suspicious looking man in it. When he gets out and starts wandering outside their home, Dewey uses his amazing telepathic communication skills leads them into action to thwart the criminal.
INSPECTOR DEWEY’s characters are irresistibly loveable. Their personalities are effectively captured in the evocative, soothing, double-page illustrations. For example, Dewey is shown with in a Sherlock Holmes-like pose complete with his cap and magnifying glass, while the “humungous” Thumper is busy munching on snacks. Though the plot creates suspense, the attention to Dewey’s abilities to communicate telepathically may present a tiny distraction to the otherwise engaging narrative which is decorated with fishy exclamations like “Great grouper!” and “hold your halibut.” While the number of words and level of vocabulary that include words like “strategizing” might bewilder very young children, an audience of six to ten-year-olds, may appreciate the use of language with descriptions like “rusted orange patina” for the villain’s truck. The narrative also has some lovely turns of phrases such as Dewey’s advice on managing Thumper – “the sensible thing to do is to sidestep a skirmish” – that give a melody to the narrative. This combined with the visual effect of the cursive writing and varied font of sound effects, adds movement to the narrative that adds to the allure of the story.
But this positive story, with its themes of cooperation, friendship and feline/human family puts its money where the motive is. The back page explains that fifty percent of the profits from the sale of this book funds veterinary care of pets whose families are in financial need so pets can stay with their families.
INSPECTOR DEWEY is cat-ivating tale filled with fun language and beautiful illustrations.
~IndieReader