A comical parody of dime store gumshoe novels (plus plenty of the gross-out factor from bugs and cooties that will really appeal to youngsters), this first of the Chet Gecko Mysteries earns my tentative recommendation.

Chet Gecko, 4th grade private eye, is a bug munching, crime solving gecko charged with finding Shirley Chameleon's little brother before the big football game. Chet gets help from Natalie, his Mockingbird friend who's talents come in very handy! While solving the mystery, Chet uncovers a plot to ruin the big game, is misled by a red herring, and is dangled over the pool by his tail in the clutches of the villain!

Very funny with tons of cheesy jokes, I can absolutely assure you that several kids will laugh out loud while reading it! Parents though might not like the irreverence displayed to authority figures and how Chet runs off from school to investigate his case. There is also some unfortunate stereotypes of football players (who display almost unintelligible dialogue) which I am hoping the series grows out of.