The Great Googlestein Museum Mystery - Hardcover

Gr. 3-6. Marvin, Raymond, and Fats, the mice from Macy's toy department who made their debut in The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper (1975), are back again for a fifth adventure. This time they hitch a ride in a shopping bag and end up spending a week at New York City's Guggenheim Museum. Adventurous Marvin, who is enamored with the roller blades he sees in nearby Central Park, wants desperately to skate all the way down the spiral ramp of the museum. Inventive Raymond is happy to design blades and a helmet for Marvin, as well as to calculate his velocity and safety needs. But the story's true hero is the voracious Fats, who blossoms once his artistic talents are discovered and acknowledged. As always, Van Leeuwen's characters are appealing, both for their mouselike behaviors and their childlike personalities. Alley's black-and-white sketches add to the fun and help to clarify some of the story's details, particularly what common objects look like from a mouse's perspective. Strong local color is an added bonus. This will be a popular pick for reading aloud or alone; pair it with E. L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) for another New York City museum adventure. Kay Weisman
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Grade 2-4-After a long winter stuck inside the toy department at Macy's, Marvin needs to get out, so he enlists his friends Fats and Raymond to go exploring. The three mice catch a ride in a shopping bag full of stuffed rabbits and, to their delight, end up in Central Park. Marvin is captivated by Rollerbladers, but Raymond is far more interested in going to the Guggenheim, or as Marvin thinks of it, the Googlestein. Locked in the museum after closing, the trio make themselves at home in the kitchen of the Museum Caf‚. Marvin's desire to skate down the museum's ramp and Fats's newfound artistic endeavors keep them busy and keep readers entertained. Marvin, Fats, and Raymond are engaging characters and their adventures will appeal to young readers. The fast-paced plot is enjoyable, even though this novel is not a mystery in the classic sense. While the identity of the "mystery artist" is unknown to visitors at the Guggenheim, readers know exactly who created the collages. The small, amusing black-and-white drawings scattered throughout further enhance the reading experience.
Shara Alpern, The Free Library of Philadelphia
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