Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, Paul Galdone (Illustrated by)

Basil is an unusual mouse.  He hangs out with Sherlock Holmes (unseen, of course) and watches his techniques and his thinking.  He's going to be a great mouse detective.  He's already a good organizer.  He's moved his mouse village to Sherlock's basement!

Aladdin and Edelweiss allowed me to read this story for review (thank you).  It will be published May 17th.

When a distraught family comes running to Sherlock's door and tells him their children are missing, he has a case he can use his knowledge on.  He's sure it's a kidnapping and they will be sending their terms soon.  They do.  They want their new village in the basement for gang activity.  They give them one day to evacuate or they will never see the children again.

Basil gets clues from the message bearer and he and Dawson set out to find where he lives and trace down the missing girls.  They wear disguises and act like sailors.  They also act like idiots at one point but it helps with their case.

This was a sweet mystery that was entertaining and fun to read.  I like Basil better than Sherlock!  This is a nice mix of a little parody with detective work that should make children smile.  I'm smiling because there will be more than one book about this ego-driven mouse detective.