Friday Fun Reads: Solve the handwriting case in ‘Signed by Zelda’

It’s my turn to post the Friday book review, but I’m in a pickle—my books are packed away. I had to box up the tomes on my bookshelves and move them out because my little haven of literary wonderment needs a makeover. My wife said so.

So instead of telling you about another one of my favorite authors, come with me to the library book sale, where I discover titles and authors I’ve never read. For 50 cents (the cost of a book at the sale), I get to explore worlds I’ve never visited, like the one in Signed by Zelda, by children’s author and doodler Kate Feiffer.

That’s how I found apartments 6, 7 and 8G in a building on 68^th Street in a big city that might be New York, and might not be.

It’s where I met Grandma Zelda, a sweet lady who used to have thrilling adventures around the world but who now stays home and bakes the most wonderful Zeldaberry pies you’ve ever tasted.

One floor down lives her grandson Nicky, an 11-year-old kid who gets grounded an average of four times a week, sometimes because he accidentally breaks things, and sometimes just as a precaution to keep him from messing up anything else. Nicky stopped growing two years ago when his mom moved to India. Now it seems that the only time his dad comes out of his room is to send Nicky to his for breaking something else. Nicky spends the hours being grounded jumping off his bed, trying to learn how to fly.

Enter Lucy, a 12-year-old who collects handwriting samples and hopes to join the FBI someday to solve crimes. Because her parents accepted new jobs in the cold big city that might be New York, Lucy was yanked away from warm Savannah, Georgia. Her new bedroom is right below Nicky’s. Do you know how annoying it is when you’re trying to learn a person’s story by studying the way he or she writes to be irritated by the constant Thump! Thump! Thump! of a kid jumping off his bed?

Then there’s Pigeon. Pigeon is a pigeon—which talks. Pigeon doesn’t talk to just anyone. Pigeon only carries on conversations with adventurous Grandma Zelda, sad Nicky, and now, frustrated Lucy.

When Grandma Zelda disappears, leaving only a mysterious note behind, and new people try to take over her apartment, it’s up to a grounded boy, a handwriting expert girl, and a pigeon who only talks to three people to solve the mystery and bring Grandma back home. And certainly not to those bothersome sparrows.

Signed by Zelda is a fun and fast-paced adventure that’s funny and surprising. Nicky and Lucy also struggle with problems that real kids deal with, such as loyalty, loss, and loneliness. It also shows how resourceful kids can be when it comes to doing the right thing.

And after the story’s over, there’s a section that lets you test and hone your handwriting detective skills.

It’s not a book that was on my shelf. But there are all kinds of new fun worlds to discover. (But don’t go to the dark ones. There’s nothing there that you or I want.) I also learn things by checking out new books and unfamiliar authors. I loved the surprise of the talking pigeon. It’s not a book in which all the animals talk, but Pigeon does. Maybe other birds can too. Who knows? But I may have to work a talking cow into one of my books someday!

Maybe I should write a letter to Grandma Zelda and see what she thinks about that.