Alec Flint Reviewed in ALA Booklist

Big news this month! The first review for Alec Flint was just published in ALA Booklist. Here’s a copy of the review:

The Nina, the Pinta, and the Vanishing Treasure. 
by Jill Santopolo. Illus. by C.B. Canga 
July 2008. 208p. Scholastic/Orchard, $15.99 
(9780439903523). Gr. 3-5.
Alec, Santopolo’s young sleuth, talks like a fourth-grader, acts like a fourth-grader, and, mostly, thinks like one, too. Sometimes he wonders why Tater Tots and pizza always pop up together on the school cafeteria menu. Or why he gets that “marshmallowy” feeling in his stomach when he has done something wrong and has to tell his dad. Or whether clever, daring classmate Gina Rossi will make a good sleuthing partner when they both grow up. In this adventure, gold coins, a broken drinking glass, a plastic telescope, and a newspaper photo are the clues the kids use to solve two mysterious disappearances, one of which seems to stump even Mr. Flint, the cop. Contrived? Sure. But most mysteries for this age group are; what sets this apart is its lively characters, a thoughtfully derived sprinkling of clues for the kids to pursue, and the opportunity for readers to have as much fun solving the mystery (and decoding the coded messages) as Alec and Gina.
-Stephanie Zvirin

In other news, the second book about Alec and Gina, coming out in 2009, just got a title. It’s going to be called: Alec Flint, Super Sleuth: Black and White and Blue All Over.