Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2004)

Thompson describes what Mouse finds when he rides to school in a backpack: "Squiggle, scribble, dot crayons! / Ssip, slurp, crunch snacks!" and children, of course--"Wiggly, giggly, best of all friends!" Illustrations in glowing colors provide appealing close-ups of Mouse and his discoveries; the toe of a sneaker, for example, takes up most of one page.

Kirkus Reviews

A gimmicky "mystery from history" is presented with the true detective work leached out of it and replaced with a phony framework meant to simulate clue-tracking. A frame story presents a girl who turns her enjoyment of the detective work of history to the lost colony of Roanoke. The subsequent narrative tells the story of the colonists, accompanied by full-bleed illustrations overlaid with mock notepaper explaining details and faux sticky-notes that randomly define terms—"destination" and "vicinity," for instance, but not the much more difficult "politics." The true shame of this effort, however, is that there is no attempt to reveal what is really exciting about history: how we know about the few details we have. This narrative is followed by a listing of five hypotheses varying from plausible to mystical, inviting readers to form their own. If the reader does, however, it is not because the preceding work has given her any idea how to formulate such a speculation. As an account of the lost colony, this is adequate; as a true mystery from history, it misses the boat. (bibliography, Web sites) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The third volume in the Unsolved Mystery from History series, Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple, illus. by Roger Roth, once again invites readers to use their detective skills to solve a puzzle from the past. In this intriguing entry, English colonists at Roanoke vanish sometime between 1587 and 1590, accompanied by atmospheric pencil and watercolor artwork.

School Library Journal (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

Gr 2-5 A young narrator who wants to be a detective when she grows up tells the story of the English colonists who went to Roanoke Island in 1587 and disappeared almost without a trace. A framed box of text, multicolored Post-its that define words, and a small notebook page that fleshes out information are laid over each double-page, pencil-and-watercolor painting. The balanced text is written in declarative, factual language that can be a bit abrupt at times and leaves little room for the poignancy and drama that is inherent in the story. A two-page concluding section offers a time line and five traditional theories of what might have happened, each followed by questions that help test the premise. The narrator prompts children to come to their own conclusions from the clues presented. The idea is an intriguing one but answers to some of the questions are available only through additional research or speculation. In addition, pieces of evidence that might be helpful, such as tree-ring evidence of a possible great drought at the time, are omitted. A detective trying to come up with reasonable theories would also benefit from a good map. Both text and full-color naturalistic illustrations are attentive to the Native American perspective, and Colonial attitudes toward native peoples are explained, as are the results of those attitudes. While appeal is limited, the book may prove useful despite its flaws. Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA