The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut & Biscuit Bill Case #2 Book Review

This cute story, written by Renee Hand, starts out with the main character, Maple Moo who in the midst of having her friends visit her rock collection, her rare mineral goes missing from underneath her large cow nose.  She instantly turns to Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill, the most famous detectives in Acorn Valley, to find it.  But they didn’t know the task was going to be an impossible one.  The reader gets to follow along and find out that the suspects are hard to figure out. With a host of characters, they have to determine who did it.  Was it Candy Cardinal, who committed the crime?  She collects various gemstones to make jewelry or was it Brutus and Betty Blue Beaver?  They also collect minerals and have a fancy quartz collection.  Liam the Llama looks suspicious with his igneous rocks and exploding volcano, or was it Huckleberry Moose with his sedimentary rock collection? Joe-Joe and Biscuit find themselves at a loss until some bullies roar into town. Will the detectives be able to find the missing mineral? Or, will this be a case they won’t be able to close?


The illustrations are in black and white but depict inviting animals that will appeal to children.  I thought it was a delightful book yet challenging for children as it introduced problem solving from a mystery standpoint but also included resources in the back that satisfies the National Science Education Standards for Earth and Space Science.  It contains picture of the rock cycle, terminology, a "did you know?" section about rocks and minerals.  Your child can also conduct some experiments and work on inquiry, creating charts and using variables and constants to determine an outcome for particular rocks and elements.  It brought back memories of my earth science classes that I enjoyed as a child and feel this is a great introductory to open the mind and foster fun learning.  I am partial to books that teach while entertaining and this is certainly one of them.  I would recommend this book.  


Book Details:

• 82 pages
• North Star Press (March 1, 2011)
• 8.8 x 6 x 0.3 inches

About the Author:



Renee Hand writes because it is a passion in her heart. She is a homeschool parent and likes to create books that educate and inspire the children of today. She was born in Michigan and still lives there with her husband and two children. She has a degree in Zoology with a minor in Chemistry. Renee is the author of the amazing mystery series known as the Crypto-Capers Series that encourages children to read by incorporating several topics of interest. The reader participates into the story by solving cryptograms and puzzles to solve the case. She is also the author of the Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series, which focuses on animal detectives. This series is a great way to teach children about animals in a fun and interesting way that captures the reader's attention and yet fills them with knowledge they will be learning about in school. All books are great to use in a classroom setting to supplement various topics or to just enjoy. Renee is an award-winning author, receiving awards such as a Best Book Award, a National Literary Award and a Preferred Choice award for her children's series and adult books. She has just recently won a Seal of Excellence award in Storytelling for her Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill Series. She has been writing for over twenty years and when she is not spending time with her family or participating in author events, she is coaching and playing tennis, as well as doing research for her books and many other things that keep her busy. Not quite sure what a cryptogram is and want to learn more? Visit the author's website at www.reneeahand.com to learn about cryptograms and how to solve the ones that are in the books.


Click here to read more about Joe-Joe Nut and Biscuit Bill and to download some coloring pages or watch a video.

Twitter URL: http://twitter.com/thecryptocaper

Facebook URL: http://facebook.com/cdrahand

*Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purposes of this review.