Browsing the Beginning Chapter Books: Aven Green, Sleuthing Machine and Aven Green, Baking Machine by Dusti Bowling, illustrated by Gina Perry

Genre: Realistic fiction

Protagonists: White female, physical disability

Reading level: 500s

Series: Currently four titles available

Originally reviewed in September 2021

Review: I know a lot of people really, really loved Dusti Bowling's middle grade novels about Aven Green, but I never got around to reading or purchasing them. I was interested in the chapter books though, since I just finished updating our beginning chapter book section, so I was pleased to get review copies to look at.

Aven Green briskly introduces herself in Aven Green, Sleuthing Machine and gets the boring stuff out of the way first. No, she doesn't have arms, yes, she was just born this way, and now on to the important things - like solving mysteries! With her "brain of many cells" Aven Green has solved a lot of simple mysteries, from missing dessert to stinky feet, but now she's ready to be a real Private Investigator, or P.I., and solve some real mysteries from missing food at school to her great-grandma's disappearing dog and why new girl Sujata looks so sad. Luckily, with the help of friends and her own smarts, Aven Green, sleuthing machine, is able to bring all the cases to a happy solution.

In her next adventure, Aven plans to join with her friends, including new friend Sujata, to bake an award-winning dessert for the fair. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out as she'd planned and they end up having a big fight - and even quiet Sujata refuses to work with Aven any more! Aven's big personality and strong opinions won't help her here; she's hurt her friends' feelings by refusing to try their desserts or compromise in her plans and when she tries to find someone else to enter the contest with, he gets upset with her too! With her many brain cells and excellent ideas, will Aven figure out a way to win back her friends and still enter the contest?

Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the book, showing how capably Aven has adapted to school and life in general, and her classmates and friends are a racially diverse group. Aven is a strong personality, a la Junie B. Jones, but her parents and teacher kindly but firmly rein her in when necessary, helping her to be more aware of boundaries and the feelings and needs of others. It's great to see more diversity in abilities in beginning chapter books and there appears to be some economic diversity in the families as well, something that's almost as rare.

There is a typo on page 8 of Aven Green Sleuthing Machine, and, generally speaking, younger versions of even popular series are unlikely to attract a new audience, but this stands well on its own. I will say that Aven's teacher is way more long-suffering than I would be with her antics, as are her friends with her bossy and take-charge personality, but there are good lessons about friendship and making things right when you mess up woven into the story, especially in Baking Machine. The second book also includes a large number of recipes in the back for kids to try.

Verdict: If you are looking to diversify your beginning chapter collection, this is a strong addition and will appeal to readers who like Junie B. Jones, Judy Moody, and other exuberant and humorous girls.

Revisited: Aven's fourth adventure features sports (soccer) which is a great addition as we need more beginning chapters featuring sports. It's the most popular one by far, but the series as a whole circulates steadily and consistently. I've recommended it to many teachers and quite a few kids pick it up on their own as well. A must-have for most beginning chapter collections.

Aven Green Sleuthing Machine
ISBN: 9781454942214

Aven Green Baking Machine
ISBN: 9781454942207

Published 2021 by Sterling; Review copies provided by publisher