SPOT THE PLOT by J. Patrick Lewis

SPOT THE PLOT: A RIDDLE BOOK OF BOOK RIDDLES is (in my opinion) a must have for all classrooms and libraries. It is brilliant and fun. I have a huge collection of books about books and books about reading so I was thrilled to see this new book by J. Patrick Lewis. But this one is now one of my very favorite books of 2009! It is quite the treat of a read.

J. Patrick Lewis has written riddle poems about 13 great children's books. The books are a great variety--some classics, some recent, but all well-loved books. On each page, two detectives (children in quite adorable detective clothing) are there to figure out the book in the riddle. The poems are written in ways that give us clues. And the poems are all a bit different--some are rhyming, some are not. The illustrations by Lynn Munsinger also help a bit with the detective work. There are some clues in the illustration but they are quite cleverly done--just enough to think about but not too much information...

Really, this book is too fun. I smiled every time I solved one of the riddles. It was a fun read, figuring out the books in the riddles. But I see this book as one you can visit again and again. My first job as a reader was to solve the riddles, but now that I've done that, I can read it again to see the brilliance in the writing, the thoughtfulness in the word choice. What a fun model for our students! I can see kids going back to this again and again and again.