ALA Booklist (Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2004)

Private detectives Jack (a raccoon) and Bunny (a rabbit) help, a bike-messenger bear who has lost his whistle. As they search for clues, Bunny admonishes her anything-but-hard-boiled colleague to concentrate, but it's the softer side of Jack that enables them to solve the case. A running joke begins in the opening scene, when Bunny wins a pile of pretzels from her partner in a fiercely competitive card game: It was Bunny's idea to play Slap Jack. She thought the name was funny. Jack did not. Rylant's witticisms will amuse children who enjoy wordplay and double meanings. Karas' pleasing acrylic, gouache, and pencil artwork enhances both the droll humor and the innocent charm of the story. The seventh entertaining book in the High-Rise Private Eyes series.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2005)

Animal detectives Bunny Brown and Jack Jones help a bicycle messenger find his missing whistle and his lost confidence. In this seventh book in the series, the easily solved mystery ends happily for all; short sentences, peppy dialogue, and well-developed characters add up to a satisfying story. Karas's energetic illustrations heighten the humor and help to unravel the mystery of reading.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-Bunny Brown and her raccoon sidekick, Jack Jones, solve another mystery. Bernard, a bear, has lost his whistle in the park and the detectives return to the scene of the crime to look for clues. As they search, Bunny makes jokes about Jack's name (referring to a game of Slap Jack and saying, "Just be nimble, Jack"), and Jack is busy smelling spring, so it doesn't look like they are off to a good start. Before long, however, they hear the sound of the whistle and discover that a robin with laryngitis had borrowed it to fill in for his voice. Rylant keeps her audience interested with her witty humor and lovable characters. This book combines the accessible charm of her "Henry and Mudge" series (S & S) with the detective work of Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's Nate the Great (Delacorte). Done in acrylic, gouache, and pencil, the colorful artwork depicts the action and highlights the humor of the text. With sophisticated vocabulary and clever banter, this book will be a top pick for more confident readers.-Bethany L. W. Hankinson, Miller Elementary School, Newark, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.