Max Booth is back for a new adventure in the latest instalment in the Max Booth Future Sleuth series. Map Trap is Cameron Macintosh’s 6th book of the series, which is illustrated by Dave Atze.
I thoroughly enjoyed this instalment of the adventures of Max Booth and Oscar. A detective duo with an ability to get in and out of mischief and always saving the day. Something ‘like a map’, because maps can be complicated! and can lead us on many journeys and what we discover when we reach our destination is always part of the fun. A GPS navigation unit from 400 years ago creates an adventure all of its own as Max and Oscar work to solve the mystery of a strange looking device.
Blue Bear tells me that he loved the illustrations. He thought they looked very life like and thought they depicted what was happening in the story very accurately. He particularly likes how worried Oscar looks when they were surrounded by the robo cops.
Max and his sidekick robo dog Oscar help their friend Jessie identify artifacts from the 20th and 21st centuries for the Bluggseville city museum. That may not sound very exciting to most people, but for Max and Oscar it is very exciting because they live in the year 2424.
On this adventure Jessie has asked Max and Oscar to help identify a device that they think is an old phone. At the Romero Telecommunications museum they explore the old phones from the 21st century. Here they get into their first bit of trouble when they are accused of stealing and are surrounded by robo cops. The guard who thinks he’s caught a couple of thieves is actually Mr Romero himself and after a but of investigation informs them that their device is actually a GPS device.
On their quest to find out who owned it last, the GPS device leads them to a deserted location way out of the city. Here, they narrowly avoid getting caught by some devious looking thieves, stealing a precious piece of old-tech art…
They know they need to get the metal object back and while they are trying to work out how, they run into someone Max used to know, Lily, who is also an escapee from the home for Unclaimed Urchins on Skyburb 6. Lily helps them get into the building where they discover lots of things that shouldn’t be there.
Will Max, Oscar and Lily be able to save the day?
Will the thieves be apprehended?
Will they get caught?
To find out, read Map Trap and enjoy Max Booth’s latest adventure. This chapter book for children is ideal for ages 8-10 years and explores the themes of adventure, mystery and sci-fi. This intergalactic adventure will appeal to young readers of mystery and mayhem. The writing is stimulating and exciting, allowing readers to be captivated and be always asking, ‘what will happen next?’
Published by Big Sky Publishing.
Thanks to Books On Tour PR & Marketing for organising the blog campaign which this blog is a part of.
A chapter book for 9 - 12 years olds.
Educational activities
Perfect for discussing situations of responsibility and what to do if you suspect someone has stolen something.
Children can design a device of choice and imagine what a future person might think it is used for and write about it.
Research old devices and explore what the device was used for has changed over the years and design a future device that will do the same thing.
For example, how has the way music is listened to changed?
A wireless gramophone
A turntable
A Walkman
A portable CD player
An iPod
Streaming on a mobile phone
What will come next?
(The example above is for music, however this activity can be used for any type of technology, including orientation methods.)
Explore how technology has changed how we use maps and orientation. From charting a landscape by explorers to road maps and GPS devices and tracking apps on mobile phones. What will be next?
Explore similarities and differences between the sun, horizon, co-ordinates and compasses vs the use of maps and GPS devices.