Marco, the new boy in school, is small and “mean as a skunk.” He has no fear. Mickey knows, because he saw the incident with Simón Ortega, a football player who’s a head and a half taller than Marco. The short boy is sly too—even though he started the fight, it’s Simón who ends up in the principal’s office, in trouble for beating up a smaller kid!
Mickey plans to do the right thing and tell the principal what he saw, but the next day Marco threatens him and everyone else if they tell. Because of him, Simón has in-school suspension for two weeks and is off the football team. “Imagine what I can do to you if you stick your fat noses into my business.”
Unable to understand why Marco is so mean, Mickey is even more dumbfounded when Bucho, the school’s resident bully, backs down from the new, short kid. What drives a bully? Mickey wonders. Thus his newest challenge: to turn a bully into a friend, or at the very least, a nicer person. Mickey Rangel, kid detective extraordinaire, is on the case!
In the fifth novel of the Mickey Rangel Mystery series, author and educator René Saldaña, Jr. crafts another entertaining book for intermediate readers about something every school kid can relate to: mean classmates who knock others down to feel better about themselves.
“In Mickey Rangel’s fifth mystery, like many kids his age, the title character is faced with a new kid in class who is less than welcoming. But how do you help someone who doesn’t want to change? It’s a solid resource for younger kids to learn about how best to tackle a bully and how to find your voice and speak up for not only yourself, but those around you. A welcome return to Mickey’s primarily Latinx world.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Marco is the new kid in school, and he’s mean. So mean, in fact, that he has a football player and the established school bully on alert. After Mickey witnesses an incident between Marco and a classmate, he wants to tell his school principal, but Marco threatens him and anyone else who tells Marco’s secret. Faced with a moral conundrum, Mickey uses his sleuthing skills to find out the best way to handle a bully and, in the process, discovers the truth about what makes bullies say and do the things they do. Mickey’s friends warn him that turning a bully into a friend isn’t easy, but Mickey refuses to accept that “a bad apple is sometimes just a bad apple.” By talking to trusted adults and modeling empathy, compassion, and forgiveness, Mickey not only solves the mystery but he makes life better for his classmates. Short chapters make this book ideal for reluctant readers and a strong addition to any intermediate collection. Important lessons are learned in this timely tale that will engage curious readers and spark important conversations.”—School Library Journal
Praise for the Mickey Rangel Mystery Series:
“Accompanied by an excellent Spanish translation, this title is a good introduction to the hardships of immigration for young children, with the trappings of school mystery. Kids will enjoy this solid addition. Recommended, especially for public libraries with bilingual collections.”—School Library Journal on A Mystery Bigger than Big / Un misterio más grande que grandísimo
“Mickey is a great kid private eye in the tradition of Encyclopedia Brown and the Three Investigators. Saldaña cleverly inserts some lessons about spelling and grammar into the fast-moving plot, which revolves around the fact that the graffiti-writer can’t spell. This is ideal for reluctant readers.”—School Library Journal on The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker / El misterio del malvado marcador
“The brief, fast-moving mystery appears first in English, then Spanish, in Villarroel’s translation. His prose is peppy, and his mystery, while quickly solved, hammers home a solid grammar lesson as a bonus. Though he’s no teacher’s pet, Mickey’s smarts make him a welcome protagonist.”—Kirkus Reviews on The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker / El misterio del malvado marcador
“This entertaining bilingual chapter book that will engage readers and draw them into the mystery.”—School Library Journal on The Lemon Tree Caper / La intriga del limonero
“This brisk novella in English and Spanish offers two nifty whodunits for young mystery lovers.”—Kirkus Reviews on The Lemon Tree Caper / La intriga del limonero
“Lively and entertaining narrative coupled with attractive illustrations will make this book a favorite among young mystery readers.”—Críticas on The Case of the Pen Gone Missing / El caso de la pluma perdida
“This bilingual chapter-book edition, the first in a series of Mickey Rangel Mysteries, will engage intermediate readers in both languages, English and Spanish, and offers multiple possibilities for school projects, group discussions and read-aloud sessions. Villarroel’s well-crafted translation into Spanish maintains the suspense and humor of the original English version, narrated by Mickey in fine, hard-boiled style. Mora’s illustrations add a refreshing touch, effectively breaking up the text in this appealing introduction.”—Kirkus Reviews on The Case of the Pen Gone Missing / El caso de la pluma perdida
RENÉ SALDAÑA, JR. is the author of the Mickey Rangel Mystery series, including The Mystery of the Mischievous Marker / El misterio del malvado marcador (Piñata Books, 2013), The Lemon Tree Caper / La intriga del limonero (Piñata Books, 2011) and The Case of the Pen Gone Missing / El caso de la pluma perdida (Piñata Books, 2009). His books for teens include A Good Long Way (Piñata Books, 2010), The Whole Sky Full of Stars (Random House, 2007) and The Jumping Tree (Delacorte, 2001). He lives in Lubbock, Texas, where he teaches in the College of Education at Texas Tech University.
ATOS Interest Level: Lower/Middle Grades
Category: Intermediate Reader
LEXILE: 760L
LEXILE SPANISH: 710L
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