I was a third grade spy by Mary Jane Auch

It is not often that I tell a reader exactly how to read a book but for this one I was a third grade spy there is one little trick that will help you make sense of this quirky romp - you need to notice the little illustrations at the top of each chapter.  These show you the voice or narrator for that chapter the most important of which is Arful the dog.

We do have the first book of this series in our school library - I was a third grade Science project.  This next story continues with Arful hypnotized and discovering he can now speak to his human friends Josh, Dougie and Brian.

If you have read Spunky tells all (and I hope you have) then I was a Third Grade Spy is the perfect follow on book.  Artful tries to help the boys win the school talent quest but while he can understand human speech many expressions and even individual words do not make sense to his dog brain.

This is a simple book but it is filled with humour and a quick story.  The ending at the talent quest is the predictable disaster and it is utterly hilarious.

In this scene the boys are attempting to make a souffle because they think their spy - Arful - has discovered this is what the girls are planning for the talent quest.

"We're in the kitchen, my favourite place in the whole world.  I pride myself on keeping this floor licked spotless. I'm hoping for a lot of spilling, because these guys haven't a clue how to cook.  I settle in the corner that gives me the best view. I could spot a dropped sesame seed from here."