The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

I love to visit the settings of books I have enjoyed reading.  Many fiction books have real places as settings, so when I planned my visit to London, I wanted to make sure that I saw the London Eye.  I didn't take the time to travel on it.

In the London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, Ted and Kat’s cousin Salim disappears after entering the London Eye, a large Ferris wheel along the River Thames.  The children feel led to investigate despite police involvement.  Ted has Asperger's, yet it is his different way of thinking that solves the mystery.
 

I have several friends who are raising children with special needs.  Each year I have students who don’t fit in with their peers.  I now have a book whose hero is like them. The part I liked the best was the main character’s different ability was what helped him see what actually happened.

Update: June 2014.  Ted has to change his mind about how and why his cousin disappeared.  As I read it to my class this year, my students changed their minds about the story as we went along and collected more evidence. I created a graphic organizer to help collect evidence and track changes in our thinking about the story. Click here for a free download.


I give this book a red ribbon.  For an explanation of my rating system, click here.
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