Wednesday and Woof: New Pup on the Block

Sherri Winston's Wednesday and Woof: New Pup on the Block is a friendly little mystery for 6 year olds starring a girl detective and her very clever dog.

What happens

Wednesday Walia Nadir is, in her own words, the number one detective in her neighbourhood. Woof is her partner. He's also her support dog, because Wednesday has juvenile arthritis. He nudges her when she needs a rest, and he carries her detective's notebook in the pocket of his vest (how handy is that?).

This is the second Wednesday and Woof book, and it opens with a quick case to warm up. Someone has pinched Mrs PomPom's orange candy-making syrup, and the only people home were her two little grandchildren. Wednesday uses her eyes, her ears and even her nose to crack it.

Then the real mystery begins. Grandpa lets the children play with drones in the back garden. A truck screeches on the road outside and everyone rushes over to look. When they come back, her twin brother Raafe's drone has vanished.

So who took it? Was it Anita B., who's always grumpy and always in a hurry? Or somebody else in the garden that afternoon?

Wednesday draws a diagram, asks everyone questions and remembers a very important detail about shoes. Young readers can follow the clues right alongside her, and there's a proper "aha" moment when it all clicks.

What's lovely is how naturally the book includes Wednesday's arthritis and her new friend Mariposa's diabetes. Mariposa's puppy Ruthie is still learning how to be a support dog, so she's rather bouncy. Nobody makes a big deal of any of it. The dogs are simply part of the gang (and a big part of the detective work).

The chapters are short, the jokes are gentle and the ending is kind. Whoever took the drone says sorry and is forgiven. At the back there are a few activities for detectives in training too.

What to read next

If your reader loves a pint-sized detective who takes the job VERY seriously, try Nate the Great. He puts on his detective suit, leaves a note for his mother and sets off to find a missing painting of a dog called Fang.