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Wednesday, 23 April 2025

Review: The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage

The Sugarcane Kids have a new mystery to solve in The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage by Charlie Archbold.

In the second book in this great junior fiction series, Gloria the talkative and rare parrot has gone missing. 

Not everyone’s convinced its foul play, but there are a few clues that indicate it could be. That’s enough to put Andy and his pals on the case, and they start investigating.

Then Anna the scrub python who lives at the library disappears too, and the kids just know something sinister is going on. But when you are kids, and you have to go to school and walk the dog and follow all the rules, it isn’t exactly easy to hunt down animal-nappers. 

The kids will need to use all their sleuthing abilities to solve this one, all while keeping their heads down so the parents don’t suspect what they’re up to.

Filled with a bucketload of fun and adventurous characters, this is a fab novel for junior readers. Lots of diversity and varied family situations reflect the real world and make it easy for kids to relate. Big text and short chapters make it an easy and joyful read.

This is a great book for kids ready for chapter books with no illustrations. Its action packed, fast paced and the mystery will keep you guessing until the end.

Title: The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage
Author: Charlie Archbold
Publisher: Text Publishing, $16.99
Publication Date: 30 July 2024
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922790996
For ages: 8+
Type: Junior Fiction