Summary
Hilde is a reporter through and through. She has a neighborhood newspaper, and she’s always on the look for a new story.
Hilde and her photographer sister, Izzy, get a huge story one morning when they follow the sound of sirens to the scene of a fire. Nina’s Antique Store is on fire! Hilde and Izzay work through their list of reporter questions – who, what, where, when, why, and how – to figure out what started the fire.
Review
Hilde Lysiak is the real life star of her own book! The real Hilde started her newspaper when she was 7. Now she also writes books for kids along with her dad, Matthew, in the Hilde Cracks the Case series.
This is the third book in Hilde’s series, part of the Branches line from Scholastic. I have been a huge Branches fan since I was an elementary school librarian. There’s a variety of characters and stories for kids to explore when they are ready to transition to short chapter books thanks to Branches. (In 2019, they are launching the Acorn line for even younger readers!)
I thoroughly enjoyed Hilde’s story. The story is a simple but interesting mystery. Readers get to learn about reporting while they enjoy the story. Hilde even explains how to be sensitive to witnesses who may be emotionally involved in the case. This mystery involves a Pet Parade, so there are some fun animal pieces in the book in addition to the reporter parts and the fire parts. This would be a great series to hand to a lower elementary student (1st-3rd grade) or to a teacher for those students.