Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Charlie doesn’t have the best parents or grandparents, but on a visit to his grandparents’ hometown, he finds himself in the middle of a mystery. With the help of his new friend Frog, he sets out to save Aggie and convince his family to let him stay forever. I loved Charlie. Despite his parents and grandparents being clueless, he never gave up on them. I love that the author made such great use of ASL and gave us several deaf characters, including one of the heroes. I especially loved the deep friendship that grew between the two title characters! I can’t wait to buy this series for the kids in my life!

All Charlie wants is to have his parents spend time with him instead of dumping him at his grandparents’ house. All Frog (Francine on her birth certificate) wants is to be a detective. Together, they’ll team up to solve a mystery signed to Charlie by a stranger on his first day in town. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that treated deafness so deftly — Frog happens to be deaf, and her parents run a school for the deaf, and sign language figures into the mystery, but none of these things feels forced at all. Charlie and Frog’s friendship develops naturally over the course of the story — sometimes they click like best friends, and sometimes they annoy each other — and the droll humor reminded me a little bit of David Walliams and Roald Dahl. For a middle grades novel that’s half mystery, half comedy, this little gem really delivers.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a good storyline and interesting characters. I loved that one of the characters was deaf. It features great friendships and a mystery. I think kids looking for something a little different, will enjoy this book.

Charlie and Frog by Karen Kane is a middle grade novel about friendship and learning to really listen.
All Charlie Tickler wants is for his parents to listen. Charlie's parents have left him (again). This time they are off to South Africa to help giant golden moles. And Charlie? He's been dumped with his TV-obsessed grandparents. Lonely and curious, Charlie heads into the village of Castle-on-the-Hudson, where a frightened old woman gives him a desperate message-in sign language. When she suddenly disappears, Charlie is determined to find answers. All Francine (aka Frog) Castle wants is to be the world's greatest detective. Frog, who is Deaf, would rather be solving crimes than working at the Flying Hands Café. When Charlie Tickler walks into the café looking for help, Frog jumps at the chance to tackle a real-life case. Together, Charlie and Frog set out to decipher a series of clues and uncover the truth behind the missing woman's mysterious message. Charlie needs to learn American Sign Language (fast) to keep up with quick-witted Frog. And Frog needs to gather her detective know-how (now) to break the case before it's too late.

Charlie and Frog is a novel with interesting characters and a great deal of emotion. At first I was not thrilled wit the ease of which adults treated Charlie like an adult, or simply ignored him. However, once the set up of the story was over I quickly because engaged with the antics and worries of Frog and Charlie as they tried to find Aggie and figure out what was going on. I greatly enjoyed their interactions and the secondary characters around the small town. I liked that everyone was so accepting of quirks and differences, and wish every place was that caring and open, even if they seemed grumpy on the surface. I thought the adventure was very well done, and it left me inspired to learn more sign language, I only know the basics and most of the alphabet at this point. I think a small guide to some of the signs used, or information about learning more sign language would have been a nice inclusion to the end of the book. I enjoyed the read, and was touched by the friendships found by Charlie, as well as the changes he starting working toward in his family. I can think of many readers that will simply adore the read and will be looking for more from the author in the future.

Charlie and Frog is a book that both delighted me and broke my heart. I loved the characters and the message, and found myself just as captivated by the mystery as the characters.

I love when kids' books have truly original storylines and characters, and this one well fits the bill! I also think it's very cool to feature a deaf character and the value of ASL. Well done, Disney!

I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, the integration of sign language and a touch of Deaf culture is nicely done -- the (justified) normality of both in Frog's community is wonderful, and I think kids will enjoy the signs taught in each chapter at least as much as I did. On the other hand, the novel offers an odd mix of real, complex characters (Frog's family, especially) and simple, unsympathetic caricatures (Charlie's parents being the most significantly so). Either type can work (see Lemony Snicket), but finding them mixed in the same book left me trying to understand the shape of the book instead of losing myself in the story. Still, I think the author has potential, and I look forward to reading more.
Side note: One of my favourite bits is the introduction of the female chief of police. She's described as large, but instead of following that up with the "incredible girth" and waddling that typically follows when talking about a large woman, further details reveal she's simply a large person -- big hands, big feet, crushing handshake. Delightful!
Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for a free review copy.

There are a lot of elements at work in this book, so none of them get a particularly deep exploration. It's a bit odd, plagued by a vague sense of unreality.

I am always on the lookout for a good mystery, especially for my younger readers. But... this one didn't cut it for me.
Charlie's parents have left him with his grandparents while they travel - again - to rescue some endangered animal. His grandparents - well they are not exactly grandparent material. They sit and watch TV all day except when they are off to doctor's appointments. Fortunately Charlie stumbles upon a new friend and a mystery almost immediately. While in the local library he meets a deaf woman, Aggie, who seems nervous especially when two strange men come looking for her. Then she disappears. Why did she sign the word "dead" before she left? What is she hiding? What does it have to do with the deaf school and the famous mystery writer from the town?
All good questions actually but... I think mainly the pacing seemed off. There was a lot of time spent with Charlie trying to get his grandparents to notice him and time spent getting ready for a big alumni celebration but when it came to the mystery and clues it was a bit sparse til the very end.

Can Charlie and Frog find Aggie before it’s too late? Where – and what – is the missing treasure?

Charlie and Frog is a whimsical middle-school book reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Its appealing hero flounders manfully to stay afloat in a new town despite absent parents and the negligence of television-addicted grandparents. Caught in the eddies of a cryptic message from a Deaf woman, Charlie follows the lead of an oft-quoted television personality, “good people do good things,” as he unravels the mystery around a Deaf woman fleeing from two strange men.

Charlie navigates a maze of environs that include swaying gondolas, disorganized public libraries, and a castle as he discovers friends in unlikely places. The story is chock full of humorous book titles, hidden treasures, sly humor, and great life lessons. Along his journey, Charlie meets Frog, a Deaf girl who teaches him ASL and aids him on his quest through the town rich with Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and bilingual citizens.

Keeping his key handy as he joins forces with Frog, her family, and a vocabulary-loving police chief, he follows clues and spends a little quality time teaching his grandparents that listening with the heart teaches more than cooking and crime-solving shows. Throw in a tacturn housekeeper/cook, a quirky librarian, and an ambiguous fortune teller, and Charlie might find he has all the help he needs to turn his fate around.

Charlie and Frog is cute, sweet, and engaging while teaching quite a bit about Deaf culture, ASL, and the meaning of family. I think those familiar with ASL will find it fun, while those who don’t yet know ASL will find it fascinating and want to jump in and learn more about ASL and Deaf culture.

I'm glad to see that there is a chart of the ASL alphabet at the back, and there are illustrations of key ASL signs throughout the book. These were not available in the Advanced Reader Copy, so very glad to see them here!

Highly recommended.

A simple mystery with a terrific hook and a lot of heart. The meatiest part of the story is the hearing/Deaf/sign language piece which are handled so well. As a kid, I would have adored this book for that reason alone. The mystery is pretty simple, but not something the reader can figure out alone - you'll need the whole story to discover all of the pieces. Charlie's family situation is pretty sad, but it sets up some beautiful moments in the story. Hopefully that angle will get more development in future stories.

Super cute book. Both my 11 year old and I enjoyed this!

How do deaf people communicate? In North America, they use ASL. (American Sign Language). To learn it, it is best to see it, either in pictures of a book, or by having someone demonstrate them to you. It is a very visual thing.

And that is the problem I have with this book, and why I feel that it is, at best 3.5 stars. The story is good. The mystery is good, and cleaver, and the characters are fun. But, to have to descrbe the sign language every time someone is speaking drove me crazy. I have friends and relatives who signed, and if I had to learn it by reading about it, rather than watching it, I would got crazy.

I admire the author for attempting to do it, but just throwing in illustrations would have been a huge help. Because kids love to learn new languages, secret languages, and to have the alphabet in the back of the book, or have some of the signs sprinkled throughout, would have made the book a solid four or five star.

Well written, but lacking in images.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

A Slightly Goofy But Oddly Endearing Mystery/Adventure

This is a loosey-goosey sort of book with a very appealing set of kid heroes. It feels a lot like a Roald Dahl/David Walliams kind of book in which many of the adults are crabby, or distracted, or vaguely menacing, (or just not very good at being adults), and the rest are especially kind and understanding. And all of the kids are bright and spunky. There's a lot of sly humor and just a touch of vinegar.

Of special note, our heroine is deaf, her family runs a school for the deaf, and many of the principle and supporting characters are deaf. American Sign Language plays an important role in the story. There are a lot of scenes that call up deaf power and deaf pride, and not a few subtle messages about the challenges and rewards of being deaf. This is all blended seamlessly into the larger story, and it is an unexpected and quite rewarding special strength of the book's. Now to the story itself.

Our hero, Charlie , has been dropped off my his parents for a few weeks stay with his grandparents. The parents have better things to do than pay any attention to Charlie and are happy to be rid of him. The grandparents just sit in their La-Z-y Boys and ignore Charlie. So, he basically goes off on walk-abouts in the colorful and kooky town of Castle-on-the-Hudson. That's O.K., though, because Charlie is also a Dahl/Walliams style hero. He is a little timid, but smart, sensitive, observant, independent, and resourceful. He's used to making do on his own and just bucks up and carries on. He is resigned to being a kid in a world of inconsiderate, incomprehensible, or just plain nuts adults, and is immediately likeable and easy to root for.

Quickly enough, Charlie meets an old lady, Aggie, at the Library who is distraught and frightened. She is deaf and signs a few phrases and then disappears when two goons show up. Charlie worries about her and what may have happened to her and so seeks out Francine, (Frog), a girl his age who is deaf and adept at signing. When Charlie describes Aggie's signs Frog tells him that Aggie's last sign was for the word "dead". Frog is super keen to be a detective like her favorite author, and ropes Charlie into investigating what Frog believes is clearly a murder mystery. Is it? Well, you'll have to read the book to find that out.

The real fun here is watching Charlie and Frog develop into a slightly mismatched but amusing and appealing team as the story veers between mystery/action and an oddball buddy comedy. Frog is bossy and a bit temperamental; she communicates through the sign language she teaches Charlie as the story progresses, and as noted above there is a great deal of emphasis in the book on ASL and finger spelling.

Charlie is often exasperated or confused by Frog, but he admires her singlemindedness. Frog is a good friend in a prickly and confusing sort of way and following the two of them really is a treat. The mystery plot sort of ebbs and flows, and it's really following the two of them around town as they investigate that gives the book its energy and great appeal.

There is a wide and entertaining range of humor here. Some of the dialogue is pretty snappy. There are a lot of funny throwaway lines and observations. The cast of supporting characters is varied and amusing. Some of the best lines are deadpan and subtle, but there are also a number of set scenes that are played for laughs. Middle grade droll is tough stuff to write, but this author has the knack.

So, across the board I got a kick out of this book. Just as a good friendship adventure tale it works, and then everything else was bonus time. A nice family find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)