The Game Is Afoot
RSSSherlock Holmes Re-Imagined for Middle Grade Readers
Joy Fleishhacker, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 01/05/2010
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With his astonishing investigative skills, incredible intellect, well-documented eccentricities, and determined pursuit of the truth, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes long ago stepped beyond the ink-and-paper limitations of literary creation and into the role of cultural icon. Kids’ interest in this character will certainly be fueled by the recent release of director Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes (PG-13), an action-packed new take on the celebrated sleuth starring Robert Downey, Jr. as a charismatic Holmes whose hand-to-hand fighting skills are on par with his powers of deduction.
Written at the turn of the 20th century for an adult audience, Doyle’s novels and short stories might be a bit challenging for most middle grade readers. Fortunately, several mystery series penned by current-day children’s authors fill the niche by introducing Sherlock Holmes and his modus operandi.
Told from the perspective of a variety of young protagonists, these titles present whodunits for readers to solve, while highlighting the sleuth's methodology. In addition to making riveting read-alouds in the classroom, the books can be used to introduce and enhance observation skills, logical analysis, deductive reasoning, and the ability to draw conclusions from textual evidence. Many also present vivid depictions of Victorian London, mixing historical events, images of day-to-day life, and evidence of social mores to create a tangible sense of time and place.
Other titles delve into the character of Holmes himself, as well as several newly imagined relatives with similar crime-solving aptitudes, encouraging youngsters to reconsider what they know about the famed detective or perhaps try their hand at creating their own sleuth. Finally, readers can take their first steps into Doyle’s Sherlock canon with accessible graphic-novel versions of his tales.
“The Sherlock Files” (Gr 4-6)
Set in the modern day, Tracy Barrett’s books star 10-year-old Xander and 12-year-old Xena Holmes, an American brother and sister living in London for a year with their parents. In the series opener, the siblings, who have always had a knack for reasoning things out, discover that they truly are the great-great-great grandchildren of the Sherlock Holmes.
Initiated into the Society for the Preservation of Famous Detectives (SPFD), the kids are presented with their celebrated relative’s notebook of unsolved cases. Of course, they get busy right away, combining careful research, innate intuition, and a bit of modern technology to get to the bottom of these (very) cold cases, first investigating The 100-Year-Old Secret (2008) surrounding the disappearance of a famous painting, and then uncovering the true identity of the enigmatic Beast of Blackslope (2009, both Holt) that has been terrorizing a quiet country village.
Each sibling comes across as a well-drawn individual: Xander possesses a photographic memory and a natural ability to charm adults, while Xena is an expert eavesdropper and the one more willing to jump into action. Barrett’s accessible writing style, straightforward vocabulary, and relatively innocuous choice of crimes make the books appropriate for youngsters of varying age levels and reading abilities. The action is well-paced, the clues are clearly presented, and the characters’ deductions are logical and plausible. Share these titles with a class, keep track of the clues on the board, and encourage your students to draw conclusions and solve the mysteries along with the characters.
“Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars” (Gr 4-7)
In another fast-reading series, Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin provide a you-are-there perspective of the famed “consulting detective” from the point of view of the Baker Street Irregulars (part of the Doyle canon, these young street urchins were recruited by Holmes to help him with his investigations). The orphans have banded together into a family of sorts, and each boy is provided with a distinctive personality as well as a tear-jerking past.
Wiggins, an 11-year-old who has been looking after himself since age 4, is the capable and fair-minded leader of the gang. Ozzie, who is a bit more educated and polished than the other boys, joined when his mother passed away. The Irregulars scrounge out a living while waiting for Master to call them in as consultants.
These mysteries are bit grittier and the villains more menacing. In The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas (2006), the detectives investigate a murder at the circus, soon discovering that this cold-blooded crime is linked to the theft of a royal treasure. They also meet Pilar, the bright, intuitive, and independent-minded daughter of a fortuneteller, who collaborates with them on this and future cases. The Mystery of the Conjured Man (2009) has the Irregulars braving the shadowy perils of the supernatural world to uncover the truth behind a woman’s sudden death during a séance. In the third adventure, which revolves around a murder at the British Museum and the discovery of an ancient temple, Holmes sends the boys In Search of Watson (2009, all Scholastic), who has been kidnapped, and into the dangers of London’s underworld.
The books are filled with action and suspense, as each mystery unfolds with serpentine twists and turns. The view of Victorian London is grippingly realistic in its descriptive detail, the characters’ perceptions, and the use of language (a slang glossary will help readers comprehend colorful terms such as “bog,” “git,” and “bounder").
The Irregulars themselves present opportunity for discussing the lives of the poor in turn-of-the-19th-century England and Holmes’s condescending and often dismissive attitude toward Pilar rings true. Ozzie’s character in particular develops over the course of the series, as his investigative skills and reasoning abilities become more precise (and Sherlock-like). Determined to solve his own personal mystery, Ozzie searches for an elderly relative who might have information about his father’s identity and begins to formulate a startling theory about just who the man might be.
Each installment ends with a section of “Tips and Practicals for the Aspiring Detective,” supplemental materials that extend the reading experience. For example, “The Science of Deduction” quotes a Doyle story to provide an example of Holmes’s mind at work; “The Art of Disguise” details the use of make up or prosthetics; and another chapter offers the skinny on secret messages.
“Enola Holmes Mysteries” (Gr 5-9)
Nancy Springer has fashioned a courageous, intelligent, resourceful, and utterly unforgettable heroine for this enticing series. The first installment, The Case of the Missing Marquess (Philomel, 2006), sets the scene, introducing 14-year-old Enola, the (much) younger sister of an already famous Sherlock. When their mother goes missing, Sherlock and brother Mycroft are summoned to Ferndell Hall to look into the matter. Finding Enola shockingly uneducated in the ways of a gentlewoman, they make arrangements to send her off to finishing school. However, Enola uses her intelligence and deciphering skills to decode secret ciphers from her mother, indicating that the free-thinking woman (dare we say, suffragette) has not only left home intentionally, but has also provided Enola with the financial means to do the same. Cleverly disguised as a widow, the girl escapes from her brothers and heads to London, in hopes of tracking down her mother. Meanwhile, she becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young marquess, a case that brings her into contact with frightening villains and challenges her blossoming abilities.
Enola is painfully aware that her name, spelled backward, is alone, and it’s in this state that she begins her new life in London. Carefully concealing her whereabouts from her shrewd brother, she sets herself up as “the world’s first professional, logical” Scientific Perditorian (finder of the lost) by playing assistant to the esteemed (and nonexistent) Dr. Ragostin. Employing a variety of disguises and personas, she sets out to investigate a series of mind-boggling mysteries, while also remaining hidden from her brothers and continuing her search for her mother.
In The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (2007), Enola looks into the disappearance of a young noblewoman; The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (2008) has her searching for a missing Dr. Watson; in The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (2008), the sleuth must locate Lady Cecily before she is forced into an unhappy marriage; and in The Case of Cryptic Crinoline, Enola must crack a 30-year-old code in order to rescue her kidnapped landlady (2009). The Case of the Gypsy Good-bye will be published in May 2010 (all Philomel).
All of the stories are well-plotted, fraught with danger and suspense, and peopled with intriguing characters. Details of life in London are keenly drawn, from the heartbreaking hand-to-mouth existence of the poverty stricken to the luxurious environs of the upper echelon, from sinister interactions in the underworld to the social proprieties of the drawing-room.
Enola is a fully realized character with a convincing and thoroughly entertaining narrative voice. Slightly self-deprecating and always honest, the first-person telling percolates with a winning blend of insight, naiveté, humor, and dazzling moments of self-discovery. The personal issues Enola wrestles with—including her mix of anger and love toward her mother, her burgeoning independence, her need for some sign of affection from her brother, and her search for her place in the world—will speak to adolescents.
Disdainful of the restrictions placed on women by society, Enola refuses to have her freedom curbed by convention. (She dons a corset, loosely laced, of course, not for the sake of vanity, but for the armor-like protection it offers and as a place to conceal her double-edged dagger.) Her attitude, and the more conventional outlooks of those around her, provides a wonderful opportunity for initiating discussion about the role of women in Victorian times and the beginnings of the suffragette movement.
Starring a strong, take-charge female heroine, Springer’s books provide a clever twist on the Sherlock oeuvre. Though just as intelligent, daring, and driven as her celebrated older brother—and as willing to jump into the fray—Enola also has an awareness of the intricacies of the secret world of women, and thus possesses knowledge beyond his ken. Cleverly, many of the mysteries hinge upon details that slip beneath Sherlock’s rather pronounced nose but are easily grasped by Enola, who can interpret the symbolic language of flowers, find a secret message on a lady’s fan, or crack a code hidden in the embroidery on an undergarment. Her character continues to grow and mature through the various installments of the series, and the combination of self-discovery and whodunit will keep readers returning for more.
“The Boy Sherlock Holmes” (Gr 5-9)
In this spellbinding series, Shane Peacock masterfully creates a 13-year-old incarnation of Sherlock Holmes, a complex and enigmatic character who incorporates and introduces many elements of the adult sleuth’s well-known personage while taking on a vividly delineated life of his own. The first installment, Eye of the Crow (Tundra, 2007), introduces young Sherlock—a loner who is shunned for his parentage (he is the son of a Jewish father and “fallen” aristocratic mother) as well as his poverty.
Much is at stake in this fast-paced, tight-as-a-drum mystery, as the up-and-coming detective investigates the violent murder and is soon imprisoned as an accomplice. When his mother is fatally poisoned as a result of his investigative efforts, an event that has him reeling with guilt and plunges him into black moods, Sherlock’s desire to seek justice hardens into the resolve of a life’s calling.
In the second installment, Death in the Air (2008), the young detective looks into the fall of a trapeze performer, and the case’s convoluted twists bring him into the clutches of the notoriously brutal Brixton Gang. Next, he investigates the kidnapping of a wealthy young socialite, soon discovering that there is much more than meets the eye involved in finding the Vanishing Girl (2009). A fourth volume, The Secret Fiend, will be released in the spring 2010 (all Tundra).
Villains and compatriots alike are depicted with vividly drawn personalities, a slew of conflicting motivations, and great emotional depth. Sherlock meets the attractive Irene Doyle, daughter of a wealthy philanthropist, while he’s incarcerated (in fact, she helps him escape) and is immediately drawn to her courage, compassion, and intelligence. However, when his activities threaten her safety, he pulls back from their growing closeness, resolving to work alone.
With a dignified (though threadbare) demeanor and mental acumen equal to those of Sherlock, Malefactor, charismatic young leader of a rag-tag street gang, has the makings of a formidable foe. He has thoroughly charmed Irene, who wants to reform him, adding fire to Sherlock’s antagonism for this wrong-side-of-the-law enemy. In the second tale, Sherlock becomes apprenticed to Sigerson Bell, an elderly alchemist and apothecary. This kindhearted man, with his encyclopedic scientific knowledge, Bellitsu fighting skills, passionate violin playing, and unwavering moral compass, will have a great influence on young Sherlock.
Atmospheric and moody, the books unfold with palpable tension and breathless drama. From the bustle of Trafalgar Square to airy Crystal Palace to seedy waterfront warehouses, the narratives paint a vivid picture of Victorian England. Sherlock is treated with derision and bigotry by most everyone, and his viewpoint, from the lower ranks of the social heap, provides insight into 19th-century perceptions and prejudices. A keen observer of people and details, he employs his intellect to piece together puzzles and make deductions. However, he is after all a shabby working-class boy and his resources are almost nonexistent: his pockets (and stomach) are most often empty; adults regard him with mistrust and suspicion; and the London police, led by a self-serving Inspector Lestrade, would rather throw him in jail than acknowledge his successes.
Sherlock is often powerless to influence the world around him, earn recognition for his accomplishments, or even to control his own temper and emotions…a state that will speak to adolescents. Occasionally taking wrong turns and misjudging the other players in the game, he has a lot to learn and much confidence to gain. He is mired in a confusing turmoil of ambition, pride, anger, and self-doubt, and must also continually re-examine his own motivations. Kids will perhaps find him more realistic—and appealing—than the dispassionate, governed-by-reason adult detective.
Graphic Novels
Looking for a fun way to introduce your students to Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes canon? With streamlined plots, eye-catching artwork, and boiled-down-to-the-basics dialogue, several new comic-book-style treatments make an enticing beginning. This month, Graphic Planet, an imprint of ABDO Publishing’s Magic Wagon division, releases a new series, “The Graphic Novel Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.” Adapted by Vincent Goodwin and illustrated by Ben Dunn, these books retell some of Doyle’s most well-known stories: The Adventure of Abbey Grange; The Adventure of the Dancing Men; The Adventure of the Empty House; The Adventure of the Norwood Builder; The Adventure of the Red-Headed League; and The Adventure of the Speckled Band (all January, 2010).
Starring appealingly young-looking versions of Holmes and Watson, these tales are colorfully illustrated with artwork that blends the historical setting with a modern, anime look. The stories are briskly paced and suspenseful, with the tone and images creating a sense of time and place. The easy-to-follow layouts and large print make the books accessible and appealing to both reluctant and more confident readers. Each volume begins with portraits identifying the cast and ends with the same backmatter: step-by-step directions for drawing Holmes, a helpful glossary, an address to access related Web sites, and a brief bio of Doyle (Gr 4-9).
More sophisticated readers will be mesmerized by Ian Edginton’s graphic novel adaptation of Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sterling, 2009) as Holmes and Watson take on a phantom beast. With its moody moor setting and hints of the supernatural, the story makes an apt choice for such a visual format. Edginton extracts the plot’s essentials in a gripping narrative, while I. N. J. Culbard’s crisply drawn panels keep the action moving quickly. Compelling details and lush colors echo the story’s setting and tone. Have your students compare this retelling to the original tale, and encourage them to begin their explorations of Doyle’s beloved body of work (Gr 6 Up).
