The missing middle grade category is slowly being filled up with some excellent new reads by Canadian authors and publishers. The Weird Sisters is a burgeoning series about a set of witches who are not only detectives but also run a pet store. What could be more engaging!? In book two, the sisters are out to find a missing robin and to solve the mystery of the broken tire swing. The Weird Sisters: A Robin a Ribbon and a Lawn Mower by Mark David Smith and Kari Rust is a perfectly ridiculous read.

Jessica and the sisters are feeling a little down since no one has come to their detective agency/pet store in quite some time. It seems no one in town wants their services on account of their unusualness. When they take the animals out for a walk, a mystery finds them and takes them throughout the town looking for a missing robin while also trying to figure out who cut down the town tire swing. 

Mark David Smith has created an endearing set of characters who are irreverent and hilarious. Reminiscent of the Amelia Bedelia series in its constant misunderstandings with a little macabre humour thrown in. It’s a series that is very appealing to all readers and one that fills the gap in the middle grade market. It’s a great length at 91 pages and hilarious! It’s a story that I read with The Bee but she could have easily accessed it on her own. I enjoyed it just as much as she did. 

Kari Rust’s illustrations add to the fun of the story and amp up the humour! It must be so much fun to draw the sisters in all their weird wonder! The illustrations are well placed and large enough to offer a break to the text.