School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-4-Mason is celebrating his birthday with his best friends Zoe and Will at the Natural History Museum. Their tour guide has created a series of riddles and, if the group solves them all, Mason will be allowed to pick out where they will sleep during their overnight stay. As the adventurous trio traverse the museum answering riddles and exploring each exhibit, Mason tries to figure out which exhibit would make the coolest spot for a sleepover. LeFrak's delightful tale will inspire children to visit museums and to explore new concepts on their own. The plot is simple and fun as readers try to guess the answers to the riddles and guess via hidden clues which exhibit Mason will eventually choose. There is some higher-level vocabulary, but it is easily understandable through the illustrations. Bucs has created some fantastically entertaining spreads highlighting a child's view of museums. Each picture gives details to the story, revealing more about museums and the characters' journey. He has hidden multiple clues as to the final exhibition throughout his drawings and map, and if kids watch the shadows they can see another story unfold as Mason and his friends continue their quest. Overall, this is a whale of a tale to hopefully inspire more museum trips for children and spark some inquisitive minds. VERDICT A good selection to pique children's interest in a scientific field, as well as inspire them to have their own adventures.-Margaret Kennelly, iSchool at Urbana-Champaign, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.