• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 2 to 4
• Reading age: 8 to 12

Zach and Zoe suspect that their neighbour Mr. Dotty is hiding a terrible secret - he's a bank robber! He looks exactly like the thief they saw on the news, but he's a kind, tree-hugging environmentalist - could he really be the culprit? Ordinary kids, Zach and Zoe, become sleuths and set out to solve the mystery.

Fry Reading Level - 2.8

After nearly 30 years as a published author, Kristin has written more biographies of herself than she cares to remember. And she has run out of new ways to describe the same old life. Besides, she doesn't think of herself in terms of her birthplace, education, and work history. What she'd really like people to know about her is that she loves to dance. She loves to laugh. She loves to learn. Crossword puzzles relax her. Waiting frustrates her. She likes spending time by herself. And, like the heroine in her new book Closer to Far Away, she has a family that gives her strength. Her books include Cheat, Girls Like Me, The Druid and the Dragon, and Alibi. Kristin lives in Campbell River, British Columbia.

Kristin Butcher's profile page

• Short-listed, Red Cedar Award
• Short-listed, Diamond Willow Award
• Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre "Best Books for Kids & Teens"

Ten-year-old twins Zach and Zoe are shocked when they recognize a bank robber's face on TV. It looks like the person who stole a quarter of a million dollars is their friend and backyard neighbor Mr. Dotty, the same Mr. Dotty who refuses to own any ozone destroying cars or lawnmowers; the guy who composts and recycles everything (including birthday cards) and takes the twins for weekly excursions to the marsh eight blocks down the road.

Although Zach and Zoe can't believe their eyes when they see their neighbor on the screen, it might explain Mr. Dotty's odd behavior, frugal lifestyle, and recent evasiveness. The last time they spoke to him, he was ghostly white. There was sweat rolling off his face and a dazed look in his eyes. He didn't look like himself, and he certainly didn't act like himself. Zach and Zoe saw Mr. Dotty skip work, take a taxi, go on a trip and lock up his garage- all things he's refused to do before. Determined to find evidence that proves Mr. Dotty's to be innocent, Zach and Zoe decide to search Mr. Dotty's locked garage. The first time they go in, they find a suitcase full of money. The second time they go in, it's to prevent Mr. Dotty from going to jail.

Just when the author has convinced us Mr. Dotty is the bank robber, we learn the truth. It seems Mr. Dotty did come into some money, but he was acting strangely for very different reasons. In this newest book by Kristin Butcher, Zach and Zoe prove themselves to be excellent problem solvers and loyal friends- to people and marshland inhabitants!

Zach, the narrator of the story, and his sometimes bossy and inquisitive sister, Zoe, are two characters children will enjoy getting to know. They live an exciting life. There are sleep-outs in the backyard at night, and there is crime solving in the neighborhood during the day. When they are at the marsh, their imaginations enable them to take hundreds of pictures with film-less cameras. Although their sense of duty is strong and sometimes leads them into some risky situations, Zach and Zoe can be admired for their good hearts.

Set in Victoria, BC, (with a bank robbery in Winnipeg, MB), each of the 14 chapters in this book is six to ten pages in length. The dialogue and action-filled plot move the story along at a fast pace, and many of the chapters end at a suspenseful point. This story would be a good choice for a grade one to four read aloud or for a unit study on environmental issues such as disappearing marshlands or intergenerational friendships.

Winnipeg-born author Kristin Butcher, who now lives in BC, has written many books for children and young adults, including the Silver Birch Award winning book, The Runaways. The second book in the Zach and Zoe series is scheduled to be out in 2009.

Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

CM Magazine - January 2009.

CM Magazine - Volume 15, Number 10

"The dialogue and action-filled plot move the story along at a fast pace, and many of the chapters end at a suspenseful point. This story would be a good choice for a grade one to four read aloud or for a unit study on environmental issues such as disappearing marshlands or intergenerational friendships."

CM Magazine - Volume 15, Number 10

Zach & Zoe and the Bank Robber (Streetlights)