- Paperback: 112 pages
- Publisher: Harcourt Brace International; 1st Harcourt Pbks. Ed edition (7 Jun 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0152024859
- ISBN-13: 978-0152024857
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.7 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,688,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Chet Gecko loves a good mystery. Almost more than he loves his fee-stinkbug pie. So when fellow fourth grader Shirley Chameleon asks him to find her missing brother, Billy, Chet expects the case to be as easy as ple. But Billy's disappearance is part of a larger plot, one that involves the Rat Sisters, a riddling junkyard dog, and a vicious Gila monster named Herman. If Chet doesn't solve the case fast, the entire school could be humiliated. Worst of all, Chet might not get his fee. And Chet's hungry...
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Some cases start rough, some cases start easy. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Some cases start rough, some cases start easy. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
We recently read this with our two boys (ages 7 and 4). It is enjoyable but light reading, which is probably appropriate for kids ages 7-11, based on our oldest son's enjoyment of it. The main character, Chet Gecko, is a pupil in school, who offers his services as a private eye. In the story, a girl (Shirley, a lizard cheerleader) hires him to find her brother before the next big football (the American kind) game. The characters are different kinds of animals (lizards, birds, aligators, etc.) and the school environment corresponds to what any American child in grammar school would recognize. The book has all the elements of classic pulp fiction, such as a mystery, girl assistant, mystery girl, bad guys and ending climax, which makes it fun. However, the book and characters lack complexity, that are found in more traditional children's books and there is no real value provided by the book outside the thin, but entertaining story line. The bottom line? Yes, you kids will probably like it, but it will not end up being one of their all time favorites.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A Great Gecko Tail--er--Tale for 4th-graders of All Ages!
13 May 2000
Format:Hardcover
This first Chet Gecko mystery has it all. Danger of the worst disaster possible in elementary school--total public embarrassment--unless our hero can crack the case by the end of the school day. Villains and ne'er-do-wells. A character with true-to-life reptilian traits and appetites but a voice that's half classic sleuth half comic strip. Droll drawings. Gross humor and corny puns. A female classmate who outwits Chet almost to the end. And best of all--there are five more Chet Gecko Mysteries in the works!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse
9 July 2004
Format:Paperback
Chet Gecko is a lizard with an attitude. He's also the guy to go to if you have a mystery to solve at Emerson Hicky Elementary School. In the first book of the Chet Gecko mystery series, The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, Shirley the Chameleon asks for Chet's help in locating her missing brother, a troublesome first grader named Billy. With the promise of a piece of stinkbug pie and a "cootie" filled kiss from Shirley, Chet sets off to solve the mystery.
His detective work leads him to an assortment of unsavory characters: the Rat sisters, who steal his lunch and give him misleading clues; two frightening teachers, Mrs. Toaden (a toad) and Mrs. Glick (an alligator), who almost prevent Chet from solving his case; and Herman the Gila Monster, a huge, poisonous, sixth grade football player, who is up to something bad. With the help of a mockingbird friend named Natalie Attired, Chet finds his way in and out of the classroom in his rush to solve the mystery before the football game that afternoon.
Author Bruce Hale narrates the story from Chet's point of view, and Chet's smart, cool attitude is portrayed through his thoughts and dialogue. Unique, humorous descriptions serve to highlight each character. However, the sheer number of characters makes the story a bit confusing to follow and doesn't allow the reader to connect as well with the main characters. The plot also drags on and on, and the final conflict doesn't seem to be important enough to take up a whole book. Also, the overly witty dialogue gets a bit redundant at times. Perhaps, for a child, the story is more intriguing than for me as an adult. (I'll have to test it out with my class.)
For kids looking for a good laugh and an unusual situation (such as a school consisting of mainly amphibians, reptiles, and rodents), this may be a decent book. While the mystery and plot wasn't particularly interesting, the characters themselves are fun to read about. The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse can be recommended as a light read for children ages 8 and up.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse
28 Nov 2001
Format:Paperback
Some of my fourth grade second language students were having trouble understanding and enjoying this book, so I picked it up and started to read it to see why. The way in which the dialogue for the characters is written is right out of a 1940's detective movie, and students of this age group and background do not have familiarity with such movies. I decided to read it as a read aloud to the class. It was a HUGE hit! Very humorous! Very witty! Now all the students want to read more of the books and are clamoring for the ones I have.
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