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Who Really Killed Cock Robin? (Eco Mysteries) |  | Author: Jean Craighead George
Publisher: HarperCollins
List Price: $5.99
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as of 11/25/2009 03:48 CST details
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Seller: motor_city_books
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 491551
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 208
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 0064404056
EAN: 9780064404051
ASIN: 0064404056
Publication Date: April 30, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Citizens of Saddleboro are proud to say that theirs is the cleanest town around. So they can't ignore the mysterious death of their mascot, Cock Robin. Some people would like to blame the citizens themselves, but one boy-Tony Isidoro -- suspects there's more to the story. Tony threads his way through a maze of clues: Among other things, the town park is overrun with trillions of ants; nights are quiet because there are no frogs singing; the nearby river contains a dangerous amount of an unknown chemical; and the town dump is emitting strange fumes. What does it all add UP to? It's an eco mystery all right, and it's up to Tony to figure out who really killed Cock Robin.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Still a classic of environmental fiction September 25, 2007
Brian Connors (Cape Cod, MA)
This was one of my favorite library books as a child, and it's really a very cool book for any child who wants to understand how ecology works. The death of the mascot of a small Massachusetts college town becomes a cause celebre as two interested schoolchildren and a graduate student from the local university trace the impact of human activity on the local environment, discovering hidden damage in many corners of the town from fertilizers, pesticides, industrial toxins, and other pollutants and try to track what effect it had on Cock Robin, his mate, and their mostly-failed clutch of eggs. After the book has done an effective job of illustrating how local effects can have wide-ranging consequences, the town takes a turn towards greenness in Cock Robin's memory; however, a twist ending reveals a hidden variable that shows just how far humans have to go to truly understand the world they live in.
The book takes an interesting position that is absent from much ecological literature written for adults -- it's important to be aware of and mitigate your footprint on the environment, but that fanaticism and snap judgements, even in the defense of the environment, are counterproductive, a message that is perhaps a bit too subtle over three decades later in a world of black-and-white politics ruled more by emotion and prejudice than reasoned responses. The need for a measured response even in the face of immediate danger is lost on many in the hard green movement, even as the opponents of environmentalism deny that there is a problem in the first place. Who Killed Cock Robin? makes this point quite eloquently. There should be more books like this for children.
Incidentally, if you happen to enjoy this book, Gary Larson's gloriously twisted There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a nice followup, like WRKCR? offering proof that the idea of "the interconnectedness of all things" is a physical reality, not just spiritual fluff spouted by New Agers.
who really killed cock robin September 24, 2007
Livio Socal
It is a good eco mystery and it was very exciting, my granchild said. It was part of her school assignment.
Excellent Book for Kids January 6, 2006
carole zimmerman
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is not only a compelling story, but helps encourage environmental awareness amongst kids. I bought it for my son on a whim and he absolutely devoured it. The characters are believably independent and I really appreciated their investigative styles. Kids need to think for themselves and this is a sweet, lively book that encourages such thinking with some very positive results. I highly recommend it.
 This is the worst book EVER!!!!! October 18, 2005
2 out of 10 found this review helpful
i was assigned to read this in 5th grade and i'm still trying to forget the book! if there was a button for -10 star s i would choose that. this book is cheaper than the match i used to burn it with!!! Do Not read this!!
An Eco-Mystery March 18, 2001
Isabel Harding (Atlanta, GA United States)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Environmentalist, ecologist, naturalist, and writer Jean Craighead George, the Rachel Carson for children, will win her audiences once again with this story. The plot revolves around Tony Isidoro, a young biologist who is bent on solving the mystery of the death of his hometown's feathered mascot, Cock Robin. As he uncovers assorted clues strung throughout the town--chemical activity, sudden loss of frogs and birds--Tony must try to convince his naive neighbors that not just one thing is responsible for the bird's death, but many imbalances in the town's ecosystem, which everyone is convinced is the cleanest around. Since it's an eco-mystery, the story is grippingly told in the style of a crime investigation. From the beginning you want to know Who Really Killed Cock Robin: "Cock Robin lay on his back with his feet in the air. . .It was seven minutes past six A.M. on the twenty-fourth day of May. He was dead." There are endless possiblities for the cause of the bird's death, and at times it's a bit unrealistic when Tony immediately dismisses some types of poisons and investigates others. Younger kids may have no idea what DDT, PCB, and 2,4,5-T are, though the author does try to explain them. However, the story, the dedication--"To sunshine, clear water, and sparkling skies and to the kids who are cleaning up the Earth"--and Ms. George's supportive Author's Note in the new paperback version will surely inspire kids to clean up their environment and veer away from the use of harmful, chemical-containing products. If one enjoys this Eco-Mystery, check out the others in the series--THE CASE OF THE MISSING CUTTHROATS; THE FIRE BUG CONNECTION; and THE MISSING 'GATOR OF GUMBO LIMBO. Don't forget Jean Craighead George's eighty or so other remarkable stories--the Julie of the Wolves books, the My Side of the Mountain trilogy, the One Day series. . .the list goes on and on. Each book will deepen readers' respect for nature and our beautiful but threatened planet.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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