Hey, everybody! I’m E, and my Mom is letting me do a post for her. I decided to pick one of my favorite book series: The Platypus Police Squad By Jarret J. Krosoczka! I stumbled across this book in the library when I was twelve and was hesitant to read it because it sounded baby-ish. Luckily, I couldn’t find anything else to read and ended up getting it anyway.
What is The Platypus Police Squad?
The book’s main characters are, obviously, platypi who solve crimes in Kalamazoo City. Which gives you the impression that somebody combined Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb and Judy Hopps from Zootopia (or just Phineas and Ferb since Zootopia didn’t exist yet).
The Frog Who Croaked
The first book in the series is The Frog Who Croaked. It is about a rookie detective named Rick Zengo. On Zengo’s first day, he and Corey O’Malley, a veteran detective, are sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a High school English teacher named Professor Hopkins. The Professor’s disappearance is linked to illegal synthetic fish sales coming out of the nearby high school.
My Thoughts on the Book
The book is full of jokes, beautiful illustrations, and characters from all across the animal kingdom. The book has a turtle secretary at the police station, a turkey for a mayor, and a panda businessman, who is the son of a mobster that plagued Kalamazoo city and killed Zengo’s Grandfather, Lieutenant Dailey. Because of this, Zengo has a bit of a vendetta against Panadini.
There are no guns used in the book. The characters use boomerangs, which makes for some hilarious chase scenes. Something is satisfying about seeing an illustration of two platypi with boomerangs chasing a panda through the middle of a football game. Later in the series, it is revealed Pandini Sr.’s thugs who were wielding boomerangs killed Lieutenant Dailey.
Why Kids Should Read It
The Platypus Police Squad has many good messages in it. These messages include trusting your instincts, friendship, respect for others, and standing up for what you think is right. Along with the books naturally light-hearted and funny tones, this makes the Platypus Police Squad an all-around good book for Middle Schoolers.
Other Books in the Series
The other books in the series are The Ostrich Conspiracy, Last Panda Standing, and Never Say Narwahl.
The Ostrich Conspiracy– Zengo and O’Malley investigate the mysterious sabotage of the Kalamazoo City Dom.
Last Panda Standing,– Zengo is assigned to be Pandini Jr.’s bodyguard after somebody tries to force him out of the mayoral running.
Never Say Narwahl– Benny the Tusk, an old employee of Pandini Sr. who escaped punishment, is back in Kalamazoo City and causing trouble.
Out of all the books in the series, my favorite has to be Never Say Narwhal because there are a lot of plot twists and unexpected heroes.
All of the books are very good and will stay at the top of the list of favorite books for the foreseeable future.
Awesome review E. You did a great job drawing people into the story. Hope to see more from you.
Thank you!