Major and Mynah
Karen Owen, illustrated by Louise Forshaw
Shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards
A fast-paced, funny detective adventure for younger readers, featuring magic hearing aids, talking birds and high-speed chases.
Introducing SPUD – Super Undercover Perceptive Detectives, AKA 9 year olds, Callie and Grace. When a mysterious thief targets Callie’s town, SPUD decides to investigate. The investigation takes Callie’s mind off her new, uncomfortable, hearing aids. She hates wearing them as they cause her to be teased at school and make life too loud. When she discovers their magical powers, Callie discovers she can communicate with a myna bird named Bo who soon becomes SPUD’s spy in the sky! Together, Grace, Callie and Bo track down the thief and establish a new life of crime-solving together.
The short chapters interspersed with lists and illustrations will help engage and keep young readers invested. The focus on the hearing aids, particularly the awkwardness of first wearing them, is treated lightly but with understanding and sensitivity.
Published by Firefly Press