A Case for Buffy (Detective Gordon)
Ulf Nilsson, Author
Gitte Spee, Illustrator
Gekko Press, Fiction, Aug. 1, 2018
Pages: 105
Suitable for Ages: 6-10
Themes: Animals, Forest, Police Station, Detectives, Mystery, Adventure
Opening: In the forest was a small police station. Any animal with a problem could go there for help. It was painted red with white windowsills and had smoke coiling up from the chimney to the sky. There was a garden too, and a lawn and currant bushes.
Synopsis:
Two police officers, Detective Gordon is snoozing while Detective Buffy is busy reviewing police reports — a missing blue scarf, a naughty child littering in the meadow, a lost hedgehog, and an angry grandfather badger who bullies a little mouse. Buffy organizes the cases and takes care of ordering new cakes — coconut, banana, nougat, and mint chip for the office cake tins.
When a small baby toad (Sune) and a little baby mouse (Gertrude) from the local kindergarten hop into the police station and ask to be police helpers, Detective Gordon sees an opportunity to interact positively with the younger members of the forest. He teaches them about policing, the law, saluting, creeping quietly around the forest, and investigating deep crannies. They are rewarded with paper police hats.
Detective Buffy remembers the day she came to the police station, but she can’t remember why. Her memories slowly begin to return and she remembers she lost her mother and siblings in a catastrophe involving a fox on Cave Island. The two detectives and two baby police set out to investigate their biggest case ever. What happened to Buffy’s mother and 15 siblings? Will they outsmart a fox?
Why I like this book:
Swedish author Ulf Nilsson has written an enchanting and heartwarming animal detective adventure for children. A Case for Buffy is the fourth and final volume in the series. It is an early reader mystery that is humorous with age-appropriate police action. Spees’ colorful pastels fill the chapters and compliment the story with many expressive and touching moments. This book can be read as a stand-alone story.
The animal characters are endearing. Detective Gordon is an old toad (19 years) and brings professionalism, wisdom and compassion to the story. He also likes to snooze. Detective Buffy is a young mouse who shows up at the station one night. She is so happy about having a job and a home, that she’s suppressed some memories about her past. Detective Gordon makes her his assistant. She is organized and thoughtful. Fox is sneaky and can cause a lot of damage — the reason Detective Gordon has driven Fox out of his own police district. Gordon realizes later, “If you simply drive your danger away, it becomes someone else’s danger.” Sweet nuggets of wisdom like this one are shared throughout the story.
A Case for Buffy has classic appeal and reminds me of books I read as a child. It is charming read-aloud to younger children, but is designed for more advanced readers who like adventure and action. Children don’t need to read the first books, to understand the story. Although I highly recommend reading the entire series, which will be a hit at home.
Ulf Nilsson is a celebrated Swedish children’s writer who has written over twenty books for all ages. He has written this series, Detective Gordon: The First Case, A Complicated Case (Detective Gordon), and A Case in Any Case (Detective Gordon). He has received the prestigious August award and the American Batchelder Award.
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*Reviewed from a library copy.
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