Ballpark Mysteries #1: The Fenway Foul-up (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))
Two nine-year-old sleuths bring sharp powers of observation and deduction into play when a Red Sox slugger's favorite bat disappears. Cousins Mike and Kate are thrilled when Kate's sports-reporter mom brings them to a game, and they are up to the challenge when star player Big D's bat goes missing after batting practice. Folding information about Fenway Park and its colorful history into the tale, Kelly also artfully slips in simple red herrings along with real clues to the thief's identity and the bat's whereabouts that sharper readers may pick up before the young detectives do. Game action takes a backseat to the investigation here, but Big D gets his bat back in time for some late-inning heroics against the Oakland A's, and afterward presents his awed young fans with suitable rewards. Leading off a formulaic series that will take Mike and Kate to baseball parks around the major leagues, this book should draw baseball fans as well as budding whodunit aficionados. Grades 2-4. --John Peters