The Brothers of Baker Street, Chipwrecked

It's summer and a local theater offers free movies for kids. The weather is SO hot, and I'm just glad my kids have somewhere to go that's air conditioned besides the pool (which is fine but a lot of hours and days in the sun, you know?) Last week we took in Chipwrecked, the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. The Chipmunks are going on a family vacation with Dave on a cruise. The Chip-ettes are along because this cruise is en route to some kind of international music awards show where all the chipmunk singers are performing. Alvin, up to his usual hijinx, manages to create a disaster wherein all the chipmunks are sort of blown overboard and deposited on a deserted island. Dave follows to save them (accidentally accompanied by a villain--the guy who played Tobias on Arrested Development--wearing a pelican suit.) There's a crazy lady on the island. And a treasure. And a volcano. While it was cute enough for me (except that the Chipettes look a little scary-faced. Why?), the one who really enjoyed it was my 4yo daughter. She was thoroughly entertained. And that's what it was for.

Ooh! I'm so excited about this next book. It was a mystery called The Brothers of Baker Street by Michael Robertson. It's book 2 in a series (which I didn't know until I was 1/3 of the way in), but the story was understandable as a stand-alone. The premise is a pair of London barrister brothers (Nigel and Reggie) take chambers at 221B Baker Street and begin to receive letters mailed to Sherlock Holmes. They are to only send form letters in response, according to conditions of the lease, never any other kind of response. Apparently not following this order got them in trouble in the last book. However, in this installment, they're receiving threat letters addressed to themselves (sort of) from someone wanting to avenge the wrongs of the sender's ancestor: James Moriarty. The mystery centers on the famous London Black Cabs, the safest transportation in the world--until now, when a Black Cab Killer has appeared. Reggie takes on the duty of defending the accused cabbie (sure the man is innocent), and the ball is rolling. I read this in one 24-hour period. If it hadn't been for necessary sleep (due to being a mom to five active kids) I'd have devoured it faster. It's rated PG (in my opinion), which is a true gem of a find in a lot of popular literature these days. I can't wait to zip down to the library and get book one.