Malcolm at Midnight

Malcolm at Midnight by W.H. Beck with illustrations by Brian Lies tells the story of Malcom a classroom rat.  After arriving at McKenna school he soon finds himself part of a caper involving a secret society of school pets, and evil cat and a kidnapped iguana.  Malcolm must use his smarts and wits and his human friends to clear his name and to help save the school.

I loved this book.  Malcom was delightful and his relationships with the other pets and his classmates were fun to read.  The book is narrated by a mystery writer to the teacher and there are lots of footnotes defining the vocabulary words that the narrator adds to the story.  The book has a bit of everything friendship, adventure, mystery and even a touch of romance and the pictures are fantastic. I tore through the book enchanted at every turn, this is a book I will be buying for gifts.

Appropriateness:  This is a fantastic book that will be enjoyed by the middle grade audience.  It will appeal equally to girls and boys (Malcolm is a boy but his best student friend is a girl) and has some great vocabulary for growing readers.  I would recommend this book to readers 10-14 and it is fully appropriate for younger advanced readers. 

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine