VeggieTales The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper Review

I’ve been a fan of VeggieTales since the kids I babysat first popped Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? into their VHS player. I added a couple of the cassette tapes to my own collection, and I still sing “Keep walking!” when I’m out on a hike or “God is bigger than the bogeyman!” to my girls when they don’t want to fall asleep because there might be a giant octopus in the closet.

So when Sunshine was getting ready to start reading on her own, I was excited to discover that Zonderkidz had VeggieTales titles in its I Can Read! series. One of those books was The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper, featuring Bob and Larry as two detectives trying to figure out who the door slammer is.

I received this book for review as part of the BookLook Bloggers program; all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.

The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper

Bob has a plan, but Larry’s bumbling attempts to follow that plan leave Bob turning redder and redder with every page. The story is narrated by Larry and has the classic understated VeggieTales humour, along with bright, fun illustrations.

The book was a Beginning Reading 1 title, but Sunshine still needed help with some of the bigger words, including “detective,” “partner,” and “mysteries.” She was eager to find out what happened, though, so she didn’t get nearly as discouraged by the words she couldn’t read yet.

That was one of the things I liked about using familiar characters for early readers. Having a story about some of her favourite VeggieTales characters gave Sunshine a reason to keep trying, even when the actual reading was still challenging. Learning to read can be hard, so having a book that your child really wants to read–even if they need a bit of help to read it–can be hugely motivating.

I also liked that this wasn’t simply a funny story. Like the VeggieTales videos, it has a lesson tucked into the story. When we finished reading, I talked with the girls about why Bob got angry at Larry and what each of them could have done differently.

More VeggieTales for Early Readers

If your children enjoy The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper, there are several other VeggieTales books in the I Can Read! series, including All Is Fair When We Share, Sheerluck Holmes and the Case of the Missing Friend, and Princess Petunia and the Good Knight. Karen Poth is the author of these and several other VeggieTales books.

VeggieTales has remained one of those little pieces of childhood that followed my kids as they grew. I recently revisited my review of Pistachio: The Little Boy that Woodn’t, another VeggieTales favourite from when my kids were younger. My teens still randomly break into VeggieTales songs, which makes me think those silly songs were more memorable than I realized at the time.

Looking for more books to engage your emerging reader? Check out my lists of Fantastic Books for Kids in Kindergarten and Fantastic Books for Preschoolers and their Parents.