Title: Chase Danger Super Spy: Mystery of the Special Sauce
Authors: Chase & Lisa Olivera
Illustrator: Adam Goodman
Year published: 2011
Publisher: Magic Fire Music
Number of pages: 32
Recommended age: 5+
Son Rating: ★★★★☆
Grown-up Rating: ★★★★☆
Reviewed by: Renee and Dominic (Mother and Son)
Summary (from back cover):Chase Danger is the world’s youngest super spy, ready to fight villains wherever they appear! In his first adventure he battles a giant octopus and terrifying scorpion, builds a super flying car, and takes a quick trip to space. All before dinner!
SON SAYS
What it’s about: This book is about a little boy who is a spy. His name is Chase Danger and he is six years old. There is a giant octopus living under the wharf.
What I liked and disliked: I wish I could be a spy like Chase Danger. I would be brave like he is in the book. The book had a lot of action like when he destroyed the space ship and when he controlled the scorpion to destroy the whole cave. I liked the part where he was being tickled by the Tickle Machine because it was funny.
I liked the pictures in the book and I liked how they put a CD with the book. It was really funny to listen to the story that way.
Some things didn’t make sense like a kid couldn’t build something by himself like a car that turns into a flying car. And a little boy six years old can’t jump down from the Eiffel Tower because it’s too tall.
My bottom line: I liked this book and I would recommend it to boys 6 and older because Chase is 6 years old so boys can pretend to be like him.
MOM SAYS
What it’s about: Chase Danger Super Spy introduces the reader to a special six-year old boy who has been a super-spy since birth. Chase Danger faces many dangers in the form of robotic octopuses, giant flying saucers, and super-villains set to take over the world.
What I liked and disliked: Chase Danger Super Spy: Mystery of the Special Sauce is an action-packed, beautifully illustrated book sure to appeal to the imagination of young boys anywhere. What young boy doesn’t dream of being a super-spy, facing off with super-villains, playing with cool gadgets, and coming out a hero?
I think the best part of the book is simply the creativity involved in setting up the moments of tension in the story (e.g., Chase facing off with Igor Fimple on the mountaintop, Chase being tortured by the Tickle Machine, etc.) There are creative elements throughout the book that would keep a young reader engaged and my kids were totally engaged with the story as I was reading it to them.
The book includes a Read-Along CD of the story. The audio on the CD is excellent quality and the voices and sound effects really brought life to the story. I used to LOVE read-along albums (remember those 45′s?) when I was a little girl and my kids really enjoyed this one as well.
On the one hand, I think young boys would like this book because the illustrations are really great and there are elements in the story that would appeal to them (as mentioned above). However, from a parent’s perspective, I do have to comment that I did feel that the story itself was a bit difficult to follow and I would think this would particularly be the case for young children. In fact, I think this is the first time that my son struggled with trying to describe what the story was about. The overall plot itself is fairly complex for a 5 year old with two super-villains introduced in the story and a mysterious young girl who appears out of the blue to play a role in the story.
That being said, I know that the story was co-authored by a young boy and the book is infused with his wonderfully creative ideas. So, while the story felt a bit disjointed at times, there are so many great ideas in the book and I think that kids would enjoy reading it regardless.
My bottom line: If I think about this book from the perspective of a young boy, I can see why this book would be appealing to them, especially if they listen to the book using the CD. From a parent’s perspective, I do have to say that the complex plot and non-linear story was at times difficult to follow, but I’m not the target audience! So, with that in mind, I would recommend it to boys 5 years and older.
*** Chase Danger, Super Spy: Mystery of the Special Sauce was provided to us by the author free-of-charge in exchange for our honest review. ***
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