Wednesday and Woof: New pup on the block by Sherri Winston, illustrated by Gladys Jose

 I accidentally picked up the second book in this series, but I think it gives a good overview of the series anyways.

Wednesday and her service dog, Woof, love to solve mysteries. They've just met a newcomer, Mariposa, who also has a service dog who is in training, Ruthie, and the two are down for solving some mysteries together. They start by solving the mystery of a neighbor's missing orange syrup, with the combined abilities of their dogs (Ruthie is a diabetic-alert dog) and Wednesday's list of questions. But when a friend's drone disappears, things get a little more confusing. Can Wednesday solve the mystery without alienating any of her friends and neighbors?

Wednesday is Black and her service dog is for her juvenile arthritis, or JA. Mariposa is Hispanic and her service-dog-in-training is an alert dog for her diabetes - probably Type 1 as a glucose monitor is mentioned. These are woven naturally into the story, with Wednesday casually explaining as they go as well as arguing with a neighbor girl who is somewhat of a frenemy that she can do anything, she just has to be careful. Like other books in the HarperChapters imprint, there are encouragements and occasional questions at the end of the chapters and fun back matter that encourages thinking a little beyond the story, as well as a growing word count to keep readers motivated.

Although I question whether kids this young would have service dogs, especially one that is not completely trained, and they have more freedom to wander the neighborhood than I see even in our small town, this is an attractive and cheerful chapter book series. Black and white sketches of cute puppies and their humans fill the pages and illustrate the clues Wednesday finds. The kids play with drones and live in what appears to be a middle class and diverse neighborhood.

Verdict: This will appeal to readers who love mysteries and animals and those who enjoy realistic fiction. Hand to fans of other titles in the HarperChapter imprint like Tom Watson's Trouble at Table 5. While my holy grail still remains funny beginning chapter books with diversity, it's nice to see a wider range of children in the more traditional mystery genre as well and I am excited to add this new series and promote them to my readers.

ISBN: 9780062976062; Published May 2022 by HarperCollins; Borrowed from another library in my consortium