Charlie and Frog and The Boney Hand by Karen Kane

My name is Charlie, and my best friend Frog is not "cute". Don't ever call her that unless you want to feel her wrath! I'm the only hearing student at the deaf school, and I've become the chief suspect in the Boney Hand's theft. The story of the Boney Hand is legendary around here, and it's disappearance has upset long traditions. I'd like to blame the school bully, but it looks like someone else is responsible. Luckily, Frog wants to be a serious detective, so we're going to team up and solve this case. Unfortunately, my grandparents want to help. Ugh! There must a logical explanation for the Boney Hand, but what if there isn't? What if the Boney Hand has actually come back to life?!

Charlie wasn't sure if the legend of The Boney Hand was true, but I decided to include this book with the speculative fiction anyway. Having a deaf main character was a unique twist, and many of the other characters were deaf too. This factor made communication between characters trickier than normal, but it really wasn't a big deal. Readers can actually learn a bit about sign language. The author included humorous elements to the plot in the form of Charlie's parents and grandparents. His mom and dad didn't want to be bad parents, so they read all the books they could find on the subject. They tried everything except for experiencing life with their son. The grandparents spent most of their time in their recliners until they received detective outfits in the mail, including fake mustaches. They had several mysteries of the their own to solve, like the missing remote. My biggest drawback to the story was how everyone was so wrapped up in the ghost story surrounding the Boney Hand. It was strange that so many adult characters accepted it as fact, while the children main characters were skeptical. The story just felt unbelievable. I think this book will most appeal to students in grades 4-6.