Pigeon P.I. by Meg McLaren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: 2017 Clarion Books
Ages: 4 - 7
Pages: 28
Synopsis:
Case No. 621
Feathered friends are going missing all over town, but private investigator Murry MacMurry likes the quiet life ... Until a little bird tells a story the famous Pigeon P.I. cannot ignore
ACT 1 INTRODUCTIONS
P1
Business was slow, just the way I liked it.
P2
My partner, Stanley, had skipped town a while back, so I’d decided to take things easy.
Ill note: Missing bird flyers are all over the place. PT
P3
But then the kid showed up.
Author Meg McLaren “Excuse me . . . “
*Points to closed sign*
“But”
*Continues pointing*
“Maybe you . . . “
*Ignores*
She’d been here for a while
*It’s raining*
It was time to find out why PT
P4
The kid and her friends had come to the city ready for adventure, but they’d found danger instead . . .
P5
She had escaped, but her friends hadn’t been so lucky. No one had seen them since. PT
P6
I told her I didn’t take cases anymore.
But she was pretty convincing.
“Please?”
P7
“I just knew you’d come around. My name is Vee.”
“Nice name, kid, but I can’t promise anything”
“Maybe I could help out. I’ve always wanted to be a detective.”
“Sorry, kid. I work alone now.”
“Come back tomorrow and we’ll talk,” I said. But she didn’t. PT
The first act is longer than the other two mystery books we've talked about. Here we take our time getting to know Murry MacMurry's lazy personalty. He's very reluctant to do anything without his partner Stanley, who left for unknown reasons. In comes Vee with a mystery that Murry has been ignoring, and probably would continue to ignore if not for Vee's personality. She's stubborn and she's determined to find her friends. So when she doesn't show up the next day to discuss the case, Murry's curiosity is finally peaked. This is what they mean by character driven plot. Set up a protagonist and a plot that is antithetical to his personality, then find a way to drag him through to the end thus changing him on the way.
ACT 2 INVESTIGATION
“I didn’t see her again for weeks. When I finally did, it was too late.
“Have you seen this canary? We suspect she had been bird-napped by a cream ring.”
“A crime ring, Sarge.”
“Got any leads, Chief?”
“Beat it, birdbrain. Can’t you see we’ve got our wings full?”
The police were busy on a big case. I’d have to do this alone. PT
P8
“News travels fast in this town, especially the bad kind.
Word on the wire was that birds had been going missing all over.
P9
Rumor had it that a feather thief had snatched them.
"You didn’t it from me . . . "
I was just about to head downtown when I spotted my first feathery clue. PT
P10
Ill note: feathers falling from a birdhouse labeled “The Red Herring”
All the evidence pointed to the Red Herring Bar and Grill as the thief’s hideout. It was time to take a closer look. PT
P11
I was trying my best to blend in . . . When something caught my eye.
P12
“And stay out!” Something feathery that someone didn’t want me to see.
I knew I was in the right place. I just needed to find another way inside. PT
P13 -14
”We better close up.”
It didn’t take me long.
“You’re all here!”
“I knew you’d find us!”
“This little canary already had a plan. She just needed the pin from my hat. PT
There is only one real clue in this one - a yellow feather where only red feathers are allowed. It's a fun visual clue that may be easily missed, and thus trains young readers to be observant of background information. Training their eyes to find such clues will make the book even more fun on a second, third, ect retelling as they spot more and more fun tricks in the background illustrations.
ACT 3 FIGHT
P15
The kid turned out to be a genius at picking locks. Everything was going well until…
P15
“BRING ME MORE FEATHERS!”
“Come on! We’ve got to go!”
“But that voice sounds so familiar. . . “
The villainous feather thief was shouting orders. I couldn’t leave now - I was so close to the truth.PT
P16
As usual, my curiosity got the better of me. The missing birds made it out safely, but it looked like my wings were clipped for good.”
“YOU?”
“GO!”
P17
“Look what we found. Boys.
“HELLO, MURRY. HOW’S BUSINESS?” PT
P18
The fiendish feather thief was my old partner, Stanley!
“You’ve changed, Stanley. You used to be honest.”
P19
I USED TO BE GRAY! DRAB AND GRAY BUT LOOK AT ME NOW….” PT
P20-P21
I’M GLOOOOORIOUS!!!
PT
P22-P23
“No. You’re not. You’re just a no-good THIEF, and you’re under arrest!”PT
Says who?
P24
“SAYS US!!”
I knew the kid would back me up.
“Take them away, team.”
P25
She’s my partner, after all. PT
P26
With another jailbird behind bars, the streets were safe again.
P27
And we planned to keep them that way. PT
End
This part was funny to me. Murry's big reveal made me laugh.
My Take
McLaren's use of voice here really nails not only the atmosphere of this story, but also the humor and drama. This story follows the beats of a hard-boiled noir detective story like Dick Tracy or the Maltese Falcon. Even reading it silenty we can hear the differences between when Murry MacMurry speaks and when Vee or Stanley take over even though the story is very visual. This makes it a very fun read-aloud story for parents.
As for MacMurry as a detective he fits our check-list. His superpower in this case would be his honing knowledge of where to look for information on his beat, and who to talk to for a lead, where the criminals hang out. It's not the kind of who'dun'it I'm currently working on, so it doesn't need the three clues deductions, but in true noir style there is a hunt, a betrayal, and fight in the third act. Yet, despite the genera, the story is cute, funny, and age appropriate. This is a really fun mystery for young readers.
Bed Time Breakdown
My husband had lots of fun reading it to my little girl, but I think it's aimed more towards kids learning to read independently. Still a very fun, cute, mystery to introduce the wacky noir style atmosphere to children - though I think there are several jokes that go right over some kid's heads, those are likely just to entertain parents, of course.
If you found this story as charming as we did please give the author some love. Meg McLaren can be found on Twitter and Instagram. Pigeon P.I. is about $15.00 on Amazon but if you can try please support your local library or book store.
I'm Porsche. Learn more about me and what I write at pbyeary.com Follow me on Twitter at PB&JellyPhish for more updates and reviews.
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