The Real McCoys by Matthew Swanson (review)

Fourth-grade detective Moxie "Slim" McCoy wants to win the most coveted honor at Tiddlywhump Elementary: the Eddie Award, honoring the school's monocle and bowtie-clad owl mascot and bestowed upon the student who exemplifies "Eddie's ideals of courage, patience, and wisdom." On the day of the awards ceremony, Eddie the owl goes missing and Moxie's brainy little brother Milton is falsely accused, sending the school into a frenzy and prompting Moxie to track the fowl thief. Can she solve the case without her best friend and detecting partner Maude, who has recently moved away? The aspiring gumshoe is confident in the detecting knowledge she's gleaned from reading series fiction, but some lessons are learned on the job: a good detective never jumps to conclusions without evidence, and new best friends needn't be a carbon copy of the old, so it's okay if they don't share Moxie's hatred for soup or love of slugs, or know how to play the flugelhorn. Swanson and Behr have created a gem with this hilarious elementary-level read with graphic novel tendencies. Design blurs the line between text and illustration, allowing them to intermingle and to complement each other in dialogue balloons, marginalia, and shaded backgrounds that offer shapely emphasis. Moxie's vibrant charm remains at the forefront of these crisp black and white sketches. QB