Sherlock Holmes can be compelling reading but the original text can be difficult to follow. For kids who are still working on reading comprehension the old fashioned highly descriptive language of Doyle's original work is too much and adaptations are often necessary. Woolf's version is quite simplified. The writing is stripped down to really only the basics needed to follow the mystery. There is little in the way of description or reflection. We get facts and some basic dialogue, no character development or exploration of motivation. For quite young readers this adaptation series is probably sufficient. For slightly older kids who are trying to puzzle through Doyle's original works, this series could work as a supportive text, helping them to understand the heart of what they have read.

My thanks to Arcturus Publishing for a digital review copy of ‘The Blue Carbuncle’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, retold by Alex Woolf and illustrated by Eve O’Brien.

This is part of the publishers’ Sherlock Holmes Retold, a series of sixteen illustrated retellings of the classic detective mysteries, adapted for readers aged 7-11. Still, I may be many years older and found it a quick, fun read.

A doorman named Peterson has approached Holmes with a tale of having encountered a man being attacked by a group of youths. He had managed to scare them off but the man also disappears leaving behind a battered hat and a Christmas goose. Peterson asks Holmes to help him identify the man and return his property.

Then a precious blue diamond is discovered inside the goose! It is known that the Countess of Morcar's priceless blue jewel was stolen and a former thief has been charged with the crime. Yet is he guilty? What was the role of the gentleman who owned the battered hat? Holmes and Watson undertake the investigation.

I felt that Woolf did a great job of adapting the story and Eve O’Brien’s illustrations were a delight.

Certainly I feel that this book (and series) will be a great way for parents, educators, and librarians to introduce young readers to the great detective.

Another excellent addition to the series!

I’m loving how easy to read they are, use they’re simplified and condensed enough to be split into 6 chapters but all the important bits have been retained like the clues etc.

The illustrations are wonderfull and help to highlight key scenes, and to be honest I’m reading along and still not quite figuring it out before the end!

I'm a long-time Sherlock Holmes fan, so I was thrilled to see some of his adventures adapted for younger readers. This story was detailed enough to retain the spirit of the original, but simple and short enough so that it wouldn't overwhelm children listening to it or reading it. I can easily see this as a classroom activity where the class makes predictions or attempts to solve the mystery before the end of the book. This would also make an excellent bedtime book. I loved the simple illustrations and felt they really enhanced the story. I can't wait to read more of these!

Alex Woolf retells one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories, “The Blue Carbuncle,” illustrated by Eve O’Brien.

When a hotel doorman witnesses a scuffle, he brings the battered hat and goose left behind by the victim to Sherlock Holmes to try to determine his identity and return the items to him. When the search ties into a missing gemstone, a blue carbuncle, the mystery only gets more strange.

Narrated by Sherlock’s partner Watson, “The Blue Carbuncle” is told in a fun and easy way kids of all ages will understand with fun illustrations to add to the story. This series is a great way to introduce young readers to Doyle and the great Sherlock Holmes, but adults will also enjoy these short stories. The story, which is due out July 1, slowly lays out the clues, allowing the reader to solve the mystery alongside Sherlock.

Five stars out of five.

Arcturus Publishing provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This was a short and simple adaptation of the Holmes story for young readers.
A good Introduction into the world of Holmes and Watson without being overwhelming.
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book for review.

An adaption/abridgement of The Blue Carbuncle for younger readers. I was unimpressed with the first book I read in this adaptation series, but this one seems a bit more faithful to the originals. I'm still not impressed with the artwork.

I enjoyed reading this adaptation to a classic and look forward to reading the others in this series.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love the original ACD Homes tales and am so excited for this remake! Holmes is 16 but just as smart. The story has been simplified for the intended audience but it is an enjoyable read, especially if you've read the original telling.

This is another in the series of Sherlock Holmes stories (16 in the series) adapted for children by Alex Woolf, with Eve O’Brien’s delightful illustrations. Here, the famous story “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” is retold in a much simplified version, but this doesn’t harm the tale: it still manages to be a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. And quite a fun one, too.
Narrated, as usual, by Doctor Watson, the story is engaging and should keep the little ones guessing until the end. The chapters are short allowing the book to be read and enjoyed by parents and children in one go. Alex Woolf has a good command of the story and it doesn’t have any obvious triggers.
Overall, “The Blue Carbuncle” is another charming story and it is a book every child over seven will enjoy, and their parents too!

A wonderful abridged version of the classic Sherlock Holmes short story The Blue Carbuncle, that captures the narrative and spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work brilliantly. The Blue Carbuncle presents the thrilling tale of the discovery of a precious stolen jewel inside a Christmas goose purchased by an innocent, unsuspecting man, leading Sherlock Holmes on a literal "wild goose chase" across London to find the real jewel thief. This book includes cartoonish illustrations that capture the plot and characters nicely and will be sure to an extra layer of entertainment for young readers as they follow Sherlock Holmes in unravelling the exciting mystery of how the stolen jewel came to be in the goose. This will be an excellent introduction for kids to Conan Doyle's classic stories, and will hopefully inspire them to read the originals as well! I will certainly be recommending this series to my young mystery-loving students as a next step from the Famous Five and Secret Seven books.

This is a great retelling of the original The Blue Carbuncle: optimized for children interested in Sherlock Holmes and mystery fiction in general, with some wonderful illustrations!

"𝑶𝒉 𝒏𝒐, 𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 - 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈."

This series of classic Sherlock Holmes stories, adapted by Alex Woolf, serve as a wonderful introduction for younger readers of many ages to Holmes, Watson, and the adventures they have together.

Each book is written in an easy to read and understand format, dividing each story into six chapters. The illustrations add a touch of whimsy and help support the text. Woolf retains essential clues, dialogue and plot, while highlighting the ordinary in the extraordinary. I was unfamiliar with all three stories that I read, allowing me to experience the tales with fresh eyes and an excitement to see how the clues were going to piece together. The Blue Carbuncle is a story with not many clues: just a plain and rather battered hat, a Christmas goose, a blue jewel and a person charged with its theft; but is that person guilty? Holmes and Watson sift through the seemingly unrelated clues, creating links and a path to follow. I quite enjoyed how it all came together in the end; a perfect 'holiday' crime story!

The Blue Carbuncle is a fun tale; this adaptation serves as a great introduction, for those who have discovered Enola Holmes on Netflix, to her famous brother. I will definitely be adding this series to my classroom library. Thank you to Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this! I think I understood that these are e-book only, I wish there were physical editions because I think there is a big market for them.

Really good way of retelling the Sherlock Holmes stories, and to introduce them to children. Even as an adult I highly enjoyed these versions

As noted in an earlier review, I very much enjoy this series of Sherlock Holmes titles for young readers. Each is a short chapter book with cartoonish illustrations. The stories are well and simply told while keeping that sense of wonder about the ways in Holmes is able to find clues and draw conclusions.

This time the story is a simple, illustrated retelling of The Blue Carbuncle. Readers are drawn in immediately as they find out what can be learned from a gentleman’s hat and a Christmas goose. Children will then learn what a carbuncle is, its connection to the goose and how it was stolen from a Countess. They will watch as the great detective observes and solves the case. Is the suspected thief really guilty or did something else happen? Holmes is sure to find out.

This book will be enjoyed by those who like mysteries and who already know or want to meet one of fiction’s most famous characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus for this book. All opinions are my own.

I like the way the story had all of the original mystery and excitement but was much easier to read to /and by the younger members of the family. The younger ones loved the illustrations and discussed them but for me ( not the intended demographic) , I have been so ingrained with images of Basil Rathbone et al I could not see it. Still very suitable to read together.

The Blue Carbuncle is one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes stories, and this was a fantastic adaptation. I love the faint festive vibes, the Victorian charm of the story and of course, the clever genius that is Sherlock Holmes.

This mystery sees the famous consulting detective on a case about a goose. Except all is not as it seems… a potential mix up between the Christmas Day centrepiece could see some disastrous consequences, but Holmes is on the job.

The illustrations in this were great and the story was so easy to read and enjoy. I love that adaptations have been made to the main Arthur Conan Doyle stories and reaches a new, younger audience, all of which I think will love the Blue Carbuncle. I certainly did!

Thank you so much to Arcturus and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review

This mystery is such an oddball mystery, a missing gem found hidden in a goose and very little clues to go in as to why or how or who had done it. But nothing stops Holmes and Watson from eventually piecing together all the clues and solving the mystery.

This version of the story has been shortened for younger readers and made easier to read and I found they captured all the parts necessary perfectly. It was still such a fun and odd mystery and solving it with the story is always fun and always tricky with this particular one, every time it’s such a strange mystery to put together.

I really liked the way the transcriber described the story, the illustrations were good to go along with it and had quite a lot of them between the story. This is a perfect series for anyone that wants to read the Sherlock Holmes series but is younger or struggles with the classics but still wants the experience of these fun and hard to solve mysteries.