Lu & Clancy's Spy Stuff

Reviewed: April 11, 2003
By: Adrienne Mason (art by Pat Cupples)
Publisher: Kids Can Press
40 pages, $6.95

Lu and Clancy are a pair of young dogs who are always getting involved in interesting adventures. In this one they come to suspect that their aunt might be a spy, and they set out to prove it.

This is set up like a chapter book. There are actually 16 small two page chapters with titles like “Spies in the Family” and “Stakeout”, which give you a pretty clear idea of what’s happening in each one. That’s the story part.

This is also an activity book. Every chapter contains a sidebar item called “spyworks” which has to do with some aspect of spying: disguises, secret codes, secret writing, making a spyscope, making backwards footprints, etc.

If the right kids get hold of this book their parents could find all sorts of interesting things going on around the house for a week or so. The book is very amusing and has lots of potential for fun and games.