School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In her third outing, nature-loving Pipsie must uncover the mystery of her turtle Alfred's bumpy, sticky, smelly foot. What kind of insect could have bitten him? Armed with her backpack, magnifying glass, and trusty nature notebook, Pipsie sets out with Alfred to look for clues. Pipsie provides facts about each insect they encounter and explains why it could not be the culprit. When Alfred inadvertently reenacts an event from earlier in the day, Pipsie is able to put the visual clues and her knowledge of insects together to solve the mystery. Likable and enthusiastic Pipsie uses methodical, scientific exploration to find her answer-even charting how each insect's characteristics factor into her search. The illustrations are large and bright, and Pipsie looks determined yet cheerful in a pink hat, pink shirt, and purple pants. A minor quibble is that Pipsie initially tells Alfred he needs to take a bath before they can go investigating, and Alfred is seen before a tub filled with water and toys. Later, he is pictured with grass still sticking to his foot, and the spider they meet calls him "a sticky-stinky turtle." However, Alfred should be clean until he reenacts the event that solves the mystery. A page of fun nature facts is appended. VERDICT A general purchase where picture book mysteries and natural history are popular.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Little girl Pipsie eagerly uses her detective skills to determine which creature stung her talking-turtle sidekick Alfred during their earlier park visit. A mosquito? A spider? A bee? It's a contrived mystery with touches of humor, but as the two retrace their morning walk, the lighthearted text and large, pastel-colored illustrations offer relevant wildlife details. Additional facts about insects are appended. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In their third outing, Pipsie and her best bud, Alfred Z. Turtle, solve the mystery of what might have caused Alfred to be sticky and smelly and have a red, sore bump on his foot after a morning outing at the park.After a bath to cure the smelly part of Alfred's affliction, the duo heads back to the park to retrace Alfred's steps and try to puzzle out what might have bitten him. Along the way, they come across lots of different insects and an arachnid, Pipsie sharing with Alfred (and readers) cool facts about each. The friends find partial clues everywhere they turn (mosquitoes bite, but Alfred's foot doesn't itch, and there's nothing sticky or stinky by the water) until they finally add up the clues and solve the mystery, which involves three different insects: one for the stinky, one for the sticky, and one for the sore foot. A final spread of fun facts provides more information about five of the species the two encounter, but these don't include the one responsible for Alfred's bite, a miss for readers. Also, it states that honeybees collect pollen on their wings, and the beehive is depicted inaccurately. Pale-skinned, dark-haired Pipsie has her magnifying glass and nature notebook ever at the ready in her backpack, prepared for anything Mother Nature presents her with. A buzzworthy introduction to insects that may get kids outside looking at the bugs. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
