The Case of the Cheese Thief

Bright, J.E.  The Case of the Cheese Thief.  Capstone/Stone Arch  2014  112p  $31.32  ISBN 978-1-4342-6422-0  elem  series: You Choose, Scooby-Doo!  Fantasy  VG

Elementary students who enjoy the cartoon character Scooby-Doo will enjoy this new mystery fiction title.  Just as students watch Scooby-Doo and his friends solve mysteries on television, students will help Scooby-Doo and his friends solve the case of the cheese thief in this interactive title.  Students are introduced to The Mystery Inc., Gang, consisting of Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, Fred Jones, Jr., Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley.  The author explains each character’s skills and biography.  In this mystery, when a recipe is stolen for a million-dollar mozzarella on a train in Europe, Scooby-Doo, his gang of mystery friends, and the reader get to solve the case of the cheese burglar through decisions made by the reader.  As students read the story, he/she will decide which path to take and then follow the directions on the bottom of those pages.  Since readers can take different paths, the story will change with the help of the reader and his/her decisions.  Students who enjoy “You Choose” fiction stories will read the story several times to see the different paths.

The author includes color illustrations, easy-to-read text, information on the author and illustrator, a glossary, jokes and a special code to use on FactHound, an Internet web site that includes additional cool features that enhance the reading experience.            

Four titles have been published in this series as of this review, each one starring Scooby-Doo and his friends Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy! These mysteries feature fun, action-packed, colorfully illustrated stories that allow the readers to choose their own path. In each book, with the help of the reader, Scooby and the gang will solve spooky mysteries and expose common criminals in a truly dynamic reading experience.    

Summary: “On a trip through Europe, Scooby-Doo and the gang encounter the mystery of the missing million-dollar mozzarella--and they need the reader's help to solve the mystery and find the cheese.”   

Scooby-Doo-Fiction                              -–Charleen Forba-Mayer