Thea Stilton, Book Three - Ghost of the Shipwreck

It's been a while since I've read one of these Thea Stilton titles, and quite frankly, I had considered just giving them up - read what I had already bought, put them on the shelf, and then forget about them.  However, after reading this third mystery in the series, it rejuvenated my interest in the series a bit, and I may pick up a few more...

Thea Stilton and the Ghost of the Shipwreck is a fun story about not one, but two different treasures that the "Thea Sisters" find!  As with the prior book, Thea Stilton is little more than the narrator for the framing sequences, and the five mouselings - Nicky, Colette, Pamela, Paulina, and Violet - are actually the mystery-solving protagonists.

As the title and cover would suggest, the story opens with the girls stumbling into a mystery surrounding a legend about a ship that supposedly sank just off the coast off Whale Island, where the girls attend school.  Before you know it, Professor Ian van Kraken goes missing, and it's up to the girls to find him!  In an unknown-to-the-reader-at-the-time subplot, a new nautical transport company is making waves (yes, pun intended!) as its owner takes business away from the previously sole source of transportation on and off Whale Island.  With his new hydrofoil ferry, Captain Coral is able to transport people much faster than the old transport.  Of course, the reader has to wonder if there is another reason this new Captain has set shore on the island.

Meanwhile, the girls finally locate Profession van Kraken - but in doing so, they not only discover the remains of the sunken ship, but also find the treasure long thought lost to the world.  The only problem is, they aren't the only ones who were looking for it.  The girls end up kidnapped aboard the boat of someone they thought they could trust, and it is only by a stroke of luck they manage to escape and see the criminal brought to justice.

But wait!  There's more!

The mystery of the shipwreck only fills about half the book; the remaining half is devoted to yet another treasure hunt, as an old friend of Violet's asks the girls to come to Beijing to help him solve a mystery about another treasure.  Of course, the girls jump at the change and are soon whisked away to China.  Once there, Xiao shows them a unique lacquer box her mother purchased, but which a mysterious Madame Hu is desperate to obtain.  The girls soon discover the box is a map to a treasure of the Jade Princess, and it becomes a race to see whether they can beat Madame Hu to the treasure!

It's interesting the author chose to basically combine two mysteries into one - and with the cover and title what they are, it comes as a jarring surprise when barely halfway through the story the girls solve the mystery surrounding the shipwreck and go off on a secondary adventure.  At the same time, it was a bit refreshing to have two relatively quick mysteries solved in the span of one book and both of them to be fairly enjoyable.

The reading level for this book is listed on the back as "RL3" - which I would assume means Reading Level 3.  When I did a search online, different sites gave different age levels for these books - some indicated the books are aimed at grades 4 - 6, while others indicate grades 2 - 5.  I'd have to say, the books are a bit complex for beginning readers, but they are definitely pre-Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys level books.  Whatever the target level, I'd say if you or your child enjoy some fun, easy-to-read mysteries, then this is the series to read.

RATING:  6 hydraulic dredgers out of 10 for keeping the fun in easy to read mysteries for all ages!

Thea Stilton, Book Two - The Mountain of Fire

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to continue this series or not.  Debated for a long time on whether to even try reading this series, and after the first book (which was cute, by the way), I was still on the fence.  I finally told myself to just pick up the second book and read it and make a decision one way or another.

So I did.  And I have.

Thea Stilton and the Mountain of Fire gave me the reason I needed to continue reading the series (although, admittedly, it will never be on the top of my list).  First, although this may be for young readers, it is still a mystery series.  Yes, it may have some focus on the friendship of the five "Thea Sisters," but at its core, it's still a series of mysteries.  Second, they are fun.  There is nothing overly serious, no deep meanings, and nothing dark and brooding about the books.  In other words, they are a real escape from the darkness that exists in our real world today.

The story involves the five mouselings heading off to Australia to help Nicky's family, as all of their sheep are becoming ill for no apparent reason, and if they don't cure them soon, their entire ranch could crumble.  So Nicky and her friends head off to the land down under to see if they can help solve this mystery.  Nicky's grandmother gives her a special necklace with a pendant that she discovers holds a key to solving the mystery.  Along the way, they are thwarted time and again by Mortimer MacCardigan, who is the nasty neighbor of Nicky's family and who is determined to see her family's ranch go under.  The girls must  seek out the elders, who they are told might hold the answer to curing the sheep's sickness.  After a number of misadventures, they finally find the mountain within the mountain and learn the secret that will help save Nicky's family's ranch.

But, even more than that, The Mountain of Fire was actually educational in a engaging, fun way.  Throughout the story, there are fun facts scattered here and there about Australia and its region, it's animal life, and its people and their ways of life.  While the characters are definitely fictional (I mean, let's face it, in a world where everyone is a mouse, it's gotta be fictional, right?), not all of the locations are made up.  There are quite a number of accurate facts about Australia, and it's nice to see geography, history, and culture taught in such an easy to grasp and natural way.  I'd almost venture to say that this book might even be useful in the classroom for getting kids to learn about other countries in a way that they won't necessarily even realize they are learning!  (Of course, all reading involves learning in some form or fashion.)

What is a bit odd about this book is the fact that although the title is Thea Stilton and the Mountain of Fire, Thea herself is barely in it - she is more or less the bookends, starting the tale and finishing it, but not really involved in it at all.  Actually increases my curiosity as to whether she will be featured in any of the future books, or if she will merely be the opening narrator, allowing the series to mainly focus on the five Thea Sisters.  I suppose there's only one way to find that out...

RATING:  7 moldy brie balls out of 10 for piquing my interest just enough to make me want to read more books in the series.

Thea Stilton, Book One - The Dragon's Code

A spin-off of Scholastic's highly successful Geronimo Stilton books, the Thea Stilton books tell the stories of Geronimo's sister, Thea (surprise!), who is a special correspondent for "The Rodent Gazette."  The Dragon's Code is the first in a series of mysteries wherein Thea is invited back to her former school, Mouseford Academy and finds help in solving cases in the form of five young mouselings - Nicky, Collette, Pauline, Violet, and Pam.  As with the Creepella von Crackelfur series, the books are aimed at early readers, with large font and plenty of internal color illustrations.  Readers also get the fun of solving the mysteries with Thea and her friends, as there are small magnifying glasses on pages that hold clues - whether those clues are in the illustrations or in the story itself, well, that's up to the reader to figure out!

This first mystery finds Thea and the five girls searching for a missing student and the source of the various thefts around the school (including six cooking pots, a rake, and a water hose).  The clues lead them on a mysterious search into underground rooms and a secret entrance to a secret room that holds an unexpected treasure (and the answer to all of their questions).  It's a fun little mystery, and it definitely teaches children not only how to pay attention to even the smallest details, but it shows the value of working together to solve your problems, regardless of your differences.

At 159 pages, the page-count is more than that of the Hardy Boys books these days - although with the font and illustrations, the actual word count is considerably less. However, that is not to say that the story isn't just as readable and enjoyable.  The reading level is 3rd grade, which, quite honestly, is when I was reading the regular Nancy Drew books back in the day (along with the Boxcar Children, Happy Hollisters, and any other mystery series I could get my hands on in the library at the time).  So, I have to admit that it is a little disappointing to see that the reading levels have dropped so much in the past ... eh-hem ... "few" years.  When I was in school, this book would likely have been 2nd grade reading level.

As with the other Stilton series, this was originally published in Italy, written by Piccolo Tao, and the English translation was first published in 2009.  The author, despite the reading level, does provide a pretty intricate mystery involving secret rooms, a clever code, and an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunt that will no doubt enrapture children who read the book.  That being said, the author is careful to keep the clues at the forefront, reminding the readers now and again of what the clues are and how they are leading Thea and her new friends to the solution of the mystery.'

While clearly aimed at young female readers, I think the book would be enjoyed just as much by young male readers as well - there is little focus on the feminine nature of the characters (other than Collette, which is because she is a very high-maintenance girly-mouse) and more focus on the mysterious things going on at Mouseford Academy.

(One Side Note: while all of the other Stilton series, including Creepella von Cracklefur, are numbered, for some reason, Scholastic does not number the books in this series - so the only way to get them and read them in order is to look at publication dates to determine in what order the books were published...)

RATING:  8 booby traps out of 10 for providing an interactive children's mystery that lets the reader follow the clues to the solution right along with Thea Stilton!