A to Z Mysteries – Grand Canyon Grab

Ron Roy's Grand Canyon Grab is a holiday mystery for 5 year olds about three friends who watch a TV star disappear from a picnic in the middle of a meadow.

What happens

Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose are on a spring trip to the Grand Canyon with Dink's Uncle Warren. There's a hot-air balloon ride this morning and a mule ride down into the canyon tomorrow. Josh is nervous about both (and when Josh gets nervous, Josh eats).

Then, from the balloon, Ruth Rose spots someone famous through her binoculars. It's Parker Stone, who plays Roger Good on their favourite TV show. They land at the same picnic spot. Before Ruth Rose can get his autograph, his agent comes running out of the trees with a bloody nose. Parker's been kidnapped!

The grown-ups call the sheriff. Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose start looking for clues. There are letters scratched in the dirt by the tree where Parker was tied. There's a pig mask under a bush. And when Josh does Roger Good's special whistle, Parker's grey parrot Tommy comes flapping down onto his shoulder.

That's the fun of these books. Every clue is right there on the page for your reader to spot, so they can try to solve it before Dink does. Why is there no blood on the pillowcase? And why does a little bottle of red nail polish smell like cupcakes? You'll probably have a theory before bedtime.

It's also full of jokes. Josh can't stop rhyming ("Take a peek, Zeke!") and Tommy copies everything anyone says, including "Stop that!" Ruth Rose reads out facts from her guidebook as they go, so a young reader picks up a bit about mules, canyons and the Colorado River without noticing.

Just so you know, there's a real kidnapping at its heart, plus a punch on the nose and a ransom note. It's all kept quite light. Most young readers will find it exciting rather than scary, but a very anxious one might want to know Parker's story is a mystery to be solved.

What to read next

If your reader ends up wanting more of these three, try The Canary Caper. It's back home in Green Lawn this time, where Mrs Davis's canary has flown off and other pets on Woody Street start vanishing too.