As I work on Lesson Plans for next week. I wanted to share a new children’s book with you. Curious Cases: True Crime for Kids: Hijinks, Heists, Mysteries, and More which I received a copy of in exchange for this review.
Charlie and David have always loved Crime Shows like Monk and CSI which is why I was excited for Curious Cases: True Crime for Kids: Hijinks, Heists, Mysteries, and More to arrive to share with Charlie and David. Although I was interested in this book as well because I wanted to check out Chapter 6: The Search for Agatha Christie. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to learn more about her. How about you?
David was excited to find out there was a chapter on Alcatrax. Charlie couldn’t wait to check out chapter 13: Hackers: How a 15-year-old shut down Nasa. Which is the same age Charlie, and our family couldn’t figure out how this could happen and no, we don’t want to try it. Would you want to shut down Nasa and if so why?
I was excited that they included a teacher’s guide in the back of the book which will make using Curious Cases: True Crime for Kids: Hijinks, Heists, Mysteries, and More much easier in both our reading and Science class. Would you like to join us in class and see how the book is used firsthand? There is also resources we can use to further our studies.
The discussion questions can be used in our Creative Writing Class and plenty of words to use in our Spelling Class. As well as lots of information we cna turn into drawing for our art Class. I enjoyed looking at the timeline and discussing what the Author shared with Charlie and I. Including the 1950’s which is when my parents were growing up. Allowing me to share stories of my parents’ life with Charlie.
Meet the Author: Rebecca Valley
Rebecca Valley is a writer, editor, educator, and armchair detective from Northern Vermont. She received her MFA in Poetry from UMass Amherst, where she was the winner of the 2019 Academy of American Poets Prize. She is also the former caretaker of the Olympic Middle School library, a seasoned writing teacher, and a freelance writer and curriculum designer. She has received support from the Vermont Studio Center, Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and other organizations. Find her online at
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
