What a fun adventure through the natural history museum again! Finding the sea creatures and the clues and the excitement that is brought out with the pictures and the words. A great beginning graphic novel for the young reader. (also good for those that may just not like reading yet)

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Book two in the Sherlock Bones series, includes the same fun characters from book one and introduces us to a new friend. Still includes a lot of the same humor, and I enjoyed all the bad puns and jokes. It has more delightful facts about various creatures and environments. I think this would be very good for middle schoolers who are interested in natural sciences. I still find the lack of cameras and proper security in this MASSIVE museum a problem, but I'm an adult and I don't think a kid will mind.

Treml uses the graphic novel format to powerful affect in this book. There is no narration, no captions. Instead, Bones provides necessary information through expository dialogue. The mystery is a bit odd but certainly education. We learn quite a bit about ecosystems and animal behaviors through the investigation. The characters are consistent if a bit odd. A decent choice for young readers, especially those who find a page full of text overwhelming.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

This is the first book I have read in this series. At first I thought it was for a younger audience - more transitional/early chapter book than middle grade. It's a fun, quirky detective story. Since I haven't read the first book, I don't know how the author has set up this particular team, but I was able to follow the story without knowing that. (It does make me want to go back to the first book and find out, though.)

There are some fun animal facts here that I think kids will enjoy. The illustrations are terrific. I like that readers can follow the clues with Sherlock and friends to try to solve the mystery. I would happily buy and share this with elementary school readers in my life!

In Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery, we met Bones, a skeletal tawny frogmouth, and Watts, a stuffed blue Indian ringneck parrot. This unconventional team are both exhibits in the state Natural History Museum. In the first book we also met Grace, a chocolate loving raccoon.

There’s talk of a swamp monster who may have “squid-napped” the octopus. Our new mystery takes place in a brand new exhibit, Reef to Shore. There’s definitely something fishy going on in there.

Naturally Bones, Watts and Grace take it upon themselves to investigate. Along the way they meet a new friend, Nivlac the octopus. Our intrepid trio navigate their way around touch pools and the mangroves searching for clues. It will take teamwork, keen observation skills and some cardio.

Nevertheless, our team is keen to solve any mystery that comes their way, even the mystery of how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Granted, Grace is slightly more interested in her search for chocolate than she is in solving the bigger mysteries but you can’t blame her for that.

If you keep an eye out for visual clues you’ll probably be able to solve the mystery for yourself. Observant readers will learn the identity of the thief from the first book early in this sequel so you may want to read them in order to avoid spoilers.

Like the first book, you’ll accidentally learn as you make your way through this one, with some interesting facts about cryptozoology and some of the animals you meet along the way.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Etch, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for the opportunity to read this book.

Sherlock Bones and his trusty sidekicks Watts and Grace are back for another adventure in the State Natural History Museum in this fun graphic novel. There is a rumor that there’s a mysterious swamp monster in the museum’s new exhibit and Sherlock and friends set off to investigate. They suspect that Nivlac, an octopus who is a shape-shifting camouflage expert, is the monster, but in the end, the trio discovers the real culprit. Lots of factual information is interspersed in the panels between the action and the jokes. Readers will be engaged by the characters and events and learn along the way.

Sherlock, Watts, and Grace are back on another adventure! A new exhibit has just opened and weird things keep happening. It's up to Sherlock to figure out just what's going on. And why is this new octopus so shifty? Fans of the first volume are likely to enjoy this second series entry even more than the first. I almost wish the series employed color art as opposed to black and white, though the art is fine.

Thanks for the chance to review this young readers book in exchange for honest feedback. I think this was a really clever and interesting book. I was initially drawn to the book due to its reference to Sherlock Holmes (I'm a big fan of the detective and spin-offs or homages). I think this is a really cute and clever rendition of a mystery/educational book which also offers some great illustrations.

Sherlock Bones is a frogmouth skeleton who lives in a museum. He solves mysteries with his partners Watts and Grace. This graphic novel is great to encourage reluctant readers and it also appeals to readers who enjoy finding out or applying their aquatic and animal facts. The author really cleverly drip feeds lots of natural history information without the reader realising they are digesting them. My 7 year old read this with me and enjoyed the interactions between the characters and the information.

Thank you for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved the fun of the first Sherlock Bones adventure, and this did not disappoint. You’re quickly drawn into the story and the quirky characters, and as an added bonus it’s a great learning tool in the process. Sherlock and his friends are cute, fun and just a joy to read about/watch adventure through the pages, and I’d happily recommend to any kids looking to try graphic novels or who may be reluctant readers.

Oh this was a super cute chapter book about a mystery solving skeleton called Sherlock Bones and his trusty sidekicks silent Watts and Grace who is a raccoon. They all live in the State Natural History museum and solve mysteries involving the exhibits in the museum. They just opened a brand new wing with all new exhibits including the Reef to Shore Exhibit featuring a mangrove trees, fish and other cool live animals with a touch pool. This mystery to solve today is the case of a green hairy monster that growls and creeps around the mangroves as well as a missing octopus. This was a super cute and easy to read chapter book. Great for 1st to 2nd graders and the pictures were really engaging and should keep a kid’s attention. It also is a great way to introduce museums and all the fun information and exhibits you could go to. Just a really fun read and won’t hesitate to recommend for young readers.

Thanks to HMH Childrens Book Group and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

I just ADORE Sherlock Bones and his snooty sidekick Grace! Yet another hilarious, mysterious, and informative adventure in this second book in the series. This time they are tasked (including Watts) with finding out who and where this swamp monster is. Rumor has it that something is lurking around the new exhibit, Reef to Shore, and no one knows what it is. When Sherlock Bones meets the new octopus named Nivlac (really he was named Calvin), he thinks he's a bit too suspicious. After what seems like a century, Sherlock and Grace get a HUGE clue... This clue takes them to a completely different exhibit, and they are kind of scared of what lurks ahead. Young readers will again laugh hysterically throughout the graphic novel, and want to read more from Sherlock Bones!

Pretty cute mystery. I like that the main character is a skeleton. Too funny. I enjoyed the slightly absentminded raccoon sidekick. The perfect foil for the main character. The scientific information is presented in such a way that it is easily absorbed and will be interesting to kids. The story was a little long. I felt the characters should have solved the octopus mystery much faster. The only thing I don’t get in the story is the main character’s preoccupation with a dead bird. He seems to feel this dead bird is contributing to the story, but it doesn’t DO anything. I don’t understand why this dead bird is part of the story. It might have been better for the skeleton to talk to the audience or the narrator instead.

I did enjoy the artwork and all the corny dad jokes, though. I might try to find the first one and see if it explains the dead bird.

This is the second book in the Sherlock Bones graphic novel series. Sherlock bones lives in the National History Museum and is looking forward to exploring the museum’s new exhibit. Shortly thereafter, Sherlock discovers that a swamp monster has been spotted. He starts investigating with the help of his friend, Grace, the raccoon.
I found this late elementary, early middle grade novel humorous and easy to read. As the characters solve the mystery of the swamp monster, the author mixes in pieces of science, history and puns. This makes the book a goofy, yet somewhat educational, read. Thank you to NetGalley for the digital arc of this book.

I am so excited to be reading book two of the series, as I just finished the first book last week. EEK!
This is a wonderful series that readers of the Bad Guys series will also enjoy. Perfect for newer chapter book readers or graphic novel introduction. Come solve a mystery with Sherlock Bones as he saves the museum and the ocean reef exhibit. He is a cheeky little skeleton with a frisky sidekicks named Watts (a dead bird) and Grace (a raccoon). Grace is absolutely a hoot! There are lots of great things like the jokes, inclusion of a map, and being in a museum within the pages. Facts about protecting species is mentioned and there are lots of "new" words defined. The illustrations are really well done in black and white, though I wish they were color. There are several that I just want to save and hang in my office because they made me smile, like the one of Grace laughing or exclaiming about needing chocolate or when Sherlock says, SHH Here they come (and these are just from chapter 1). I am giggling just thinking about it hanging waiting for people to see. While you don't have to read the books in order, this one does touch back to first book and the bower birds looking for blue. Recommend for all libraries!