Platypus Police Squad by Jarrett Krosoczka

Leave it to Jarrett Krosoczka to come up with the idea of  a mystery with a platypus as a policeman.  A platypus is funny in and of itself;  making it the star of a wacky crime story takes the humor potential even higher.  Lunch Lady fans can rejoice because Krosoczka has developed another winning hero in Rick Zengo. Zengo has to prove himself to his partner, veteran policeplatypus Corey O'Malley, but evenutally Zengo tracks the clues and runs down the villains to solve the case of The Frog Who Croaked.  Longer and more text heavy than the Lunch Lady series, Platypus Police Squad is an excellent bridge book for kids who love graphic novels and are ready for a slightly more challenging reading than LL.  The action is fast-paced but gentle.  The police use boomerangs and the thieves are dealing in synthetic fish.  The story would make a great family read aloud.  Don't miss The Frog Who Croaked, and be on the lookout for future entries in the Platypus Police Squad series--Lucinda Whitehurst.

The Flying Beaver Brothers

If you know any young graphic novel readers, you will want to look for a new series called The Flying Beaver Brothers.  The first and second books in the series were released on January 10, 2012.  Ace and Bub live on Beaver Island.  In the first adventure The Evil Penguin Plan, the brothers are figuring out how to win the Beaver Island Surfing Competition when they are interrupted by a group of penguins with impressive technical skills.  The penguins have built a machine designed to freeze the island so they can construct a polar resort.  In The Fishy Business, Ace and Bub investigate the questionable business practices of the Fish Stix Environmental Manufacturing Company.  The words and pictures deliver plenty of humor and action, and the clever story lines will please both children and adults--Lucinda Whitehurst.  (Written and illustrated by Maxwell Eaton III; Random House Children's Books, 2012)