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I read this book at the request of my school principal because a parent found it objectionable. The principal could not remember why, "perhaps a word" she said. Well, I have the entire set in the library for my elementary students to read and I have never been challenged over a Jigsaw Jones Mystery book before so I said "sure, I'll read it on the ferry ride home" as I have about twenty minutes.

Let me be very clear, THERE IS NOTHING INAPPROPRIATE FOR A STUDENT TO READ IN THIS BOOK. No swear words, nothing grotesque, nothing anti-religion, NOTHING.

Jigsaw is "hired" by another student to keep from being cheated in a bet. The student agrees to eat a worm for a buck. Yucky? You bet, but it lasts about five words.

What does that have to do with a mummy you may ask? Well, Jigsaw's older brothers tell him a bit of lore about a mummy that only appears on Halloween and eats neighborhood cats. That is as gross as the story gets. No mummy appears, no cats disappear. Nada! The actual mummy that does appear is the costumed worm swallower.

So unless the principal can produce the concerned parent with a real complaint, the book stays without any issues. ( )

I did not like this book for a few reasons. For one, I think there were multiple characters that did not play an important role in the story. I think there were too many names used in the story for students to follow. I think a few of these characters could have been cut for the story to flow better. Also, I did not like the plot. I think the story jumped from one mystery to another but did not need both mysteries. I think the one mystery would have been enough. I also do not think the second mystery was fully solved and I think it was unnecessary to mention. One positive aspect I found in this book was related to how a teacher could relate to their students. For example, in the story, one of the characters describes his teacher Ms. Gleason as “the best teacher in the school. She made learning fun. This week’s theme was Halloween.” I think if students read this, they may be able to relate with how their teacher creates themes around holidays similar to Ms. Gleason. The big message of Jigsaw Jones: The Case of the Mummy Mystery is that friends support each other and respect each other’s opinion even if it is not the same as their own. In the story, one of the characters is dared to eat a worm. His friend would never take part in the dare but does not discourage his friend from eating it. While this scenario is not ordinary, it still goes to show that friends need to respect one another for what they want to do. ( )