Crimebiters! #2: It's a Doggy Dog World written by Tommy Greenwald illustrated by Adam Stower, reviewed by Debra Gantz

Summary: Jimmy loves his dog, Abby, despite the damage she does to his Mom's shoes and his family's yard. His Mom and Dad tell him he must take her to obedience school. Jimmy agrees only to save her from being returned to the shelter where they got her. The lead of the class is from the dog shelter and he has goals of tricks and commands for this course. Abby takes a liking to a St. Bernard in the class as they are both rambunctious and silly. Jimmy is frustrated by the changes he sees in Abby after a short time and worries her crime solving skills will be lost as she appears more docile and calm. The obedience class is not the only thing distracting Jimmy. His friend in his group (who was not a friend in the last book) plays lacrosse and convinces Jimmy to join the team. Surprisingly Jimmy is a good goalie and begins to have conflicts with his group over time spent at practice and games. When Jimmy approaches the club members about the weird accidents at his lacrosse practices and games, the group bands together to solve yet another mystery. This story is definitely relationship driven and the characters are believable throughout the book. I found myself laughing and connected to the characters and loved the way Greenwald closes with an Epilogue for the characters. I believe my students will appreciate that as well. 

Straight Talk for Librarians: If your school does mystery studies, this is a nice addition. My district has many schools with school dogs and they have requested more books with dogs as characters. This is as much a book about getting along with others in life as about the mysteries Abby and her owner, Jimmy Bishop, have solved with his friends in the group they named Crime Biters! I will add this series to the elementary schools in my district.