HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: The Mystery at Disney World
Author: Carole Marsh
Publisher: Carole Marsh Mysteries, 2003
ISBN-13: 978-0635021045
ISBN-10: 0635021048
Related websitse: http://www.carolemarshmysteries.com (series), http://www.gallopade.com (publisher)
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Recommended reading level: Ages 8 – 11
Rating: ***** 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
Disclosure: Many publishers and/or authors provide free copies of their books in exchange for an honest review without requiring a positive opinion. Any books donated to Home School Book Review for review purposes are in turn donated to a library. No other compensation has been received for the reviews posted on Home School Book Review.
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com .
Marsh, Carole. The Mystery at Disney World (published in 2003 and republished in 2015 by Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books, Peachtree City, GA). Have you ever been to Disney World in Orlando, FL? Author Carole Marsh (Mimi, who writes mystery books for kids) and her husband (Papa) are taking their grandkids, nine year old Christina and seven year old Grant, to Disney World so that Mimi can use it as a setting for one of her books. While Mimi and Papa are given a tour by an Imagineer named Mr. Jerome, his two children, thirteen year old Mick and nine year old Crystal show Christina and Grant around. After Christina hears some strange messages on her walkie-talkie, Grant is kidnapped during the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Following clues from walkie-talkie messages, the three try to find Grant at the Haunted Mansion ride, but Crystal is grabbed by ghosts. Walkie-talkie messages then lead the two left to Mickey’s Toontown Fair where Mick is swallowed up. What is going on? Can Christina figure out how to find them? Or will she too just disappear? The Mystery at Disney World is Book 11 in Carole Marsh’s “Real Kids Real Places” Series. Marsh started her writing career in 1979, when she self-published her first mystery for kids, the Missing Head Mystery, which starred her own children, Michael and Michele, as characters. Now, she uses her grandchildren.
I have previously read and reviewed two other Carole Marsh mysteries, The Mystery at the Kentucky Derby and The Mystery in Chocolate Town: Hershey, Pennsylvania. Like all the others, this mystery incorporates history, geography, and culture with cliffhanger chapters that will keep readers begging for more. It also includes a glossary of SAT words to help kids be better prepared for standardized testing. While there is a lot of information about Walt Disney, his studios, Mickey Mouse, the history of Disney World, and the 30,000 acres of land surrounding it, this book did not seem to have quite the same educational value as the others I read. However, it is still an interesting story.
homeschoolbookreviewblog 