Title: Dotty Detective
Author and illustrator: Clara Vulliamy
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Teacher review

Dotty Dectective is a delightful new series by Clara Vulliamy, perfect for newly fluent readers who love mysteries, animals and funny stories.

Meet Dorothy Constance Mae Louise (or Dot, as she prefers to be called) who, along with her trusty sidekick Beans and faithful hound McClusky, is always ready to unravel a mystery.

In Super Secret Agent, Dot finds out that mean-girl Laura is set on sabotaging the school talent show. Can the Join the Dot Detectives super-sleuths get to the bottom of what she is planning to do it before it’s too late?

In the second book, The Paw Print Puzzle, Dot and Beans are back on the case when spooky goings on are causing a kerfuffle in Dot’s house and making McClusky behave very strangely. Can they uncover who is making those strange noises at night before Mum’s birthday tea ends in total disaster?

Clara Vulliamy has created endearing characters who are really appealing to children. Who could resist the wonderfully inquisitive Dot, with her sense of adventure and her knack for getting caught up in the most intriguing of mysteries? Dot’s family are slightly chaotic and funny: her mischievous twin brothers who have a fondness for getting into trouble and her mum who is always convinced they will be late for everything.

Both children and parents will appreciate the warmth and humour which shines out from this series. I especially love that the books are an interesting mixture of diary entries, doodles and pictures. You really feel that you are getting a sneak peek into Dot’s real-life notebook. The illustrations are lively, witty and full of energy. For me, it is the portrayal of McClusky - whose brilliant expressions are marvellously captured by Clara - that really steals the show.

A truly engaging read, this will keep children hooked, as they will be determined to help Dot and Beans solve the cases. Perfect for confident key stage 1 and lower key stage 2 readers, it will provide a variety of opportunities to inspire children to write their very own mystery stories.

Jo Clarke is school librarian at Whitchurch Church of England Primary, in Hampshire. She writes a book blog, and tweets as @bookloverJo

Pupil reviews

Dotty Detective is about a girl called Dot and a dog called McClusky. I like that Dot is adventurous like me and is really good at solving problems and McClusky is really good at sniffing out clues. I would recommend this book to children who love mysteries, dogs and detectives.

Evie, age 7

I like this book because it has great illustrations and it is displayed like a diary. It has lots of different fonts and some of the words are slanted. I like the fact that it is related to some other books and films, such as The Wizard of Oz.

Leon, age 7

I like this book because Dotty just got to her new house and started school. On her table there was Amy Trotter, Frankie Logan, Dot, Beans and Laura Drew, a grumpy one. What I really like about this story is there wasn’t one mystery but three mysteries and they did not put any old chapter heading - they had Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Grace, age 7

This book is about a girl called Dorothy Constance Mae Louise, who has a dog called McClusky - top dog detective. I would recommend the book because it’s fun and there are lots of cliffhangers. The illustrations are quite detailed and I liked the ones of McClusky.

Emily, age 7

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