Excellent picture book biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's a good introduction to the creator of the famous detective, and I would follow up with a read of either the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves or a more exhaustive biography, still written for kids, The Real Sherlock Holmes: Arthur Conan Doyle by Mary Hoehling.

When I finished this book, I was left with the question of who it is aimed at. It seems to me the writing is for very young children but the subject is for older children: those who know about Sherlock Holmes and might care about who created him will find the book too childish, while those who are the right age for the writing may not be old enough for Holmes and probably won't care about his creator. Really, I think this is aimed at parents who don't want to be bored while reading to their children. ( )

his children’s book ARC is well-executed and well-illustrated by Isabelle Follath. It tells the story of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It tells of his impoverished origins, the importance of his mother and her storytelling, his love of books and stories, how he tried to make money selling other kinds of stories, his uncles paying for his schooling, his unsuccessful efforts at being a medical doctor that provided the model for Holmes: the detail-observing Dr. Joseph Bell, the financial breakthrough when the Strand magazine began publishing his SH short stories, the sensation they caused, his need to kill off SH for his own mental health, the resurrection of SH eight years later in The Hound of the Baskervilles, and more. I enjoyed it very much for free, but I do wonder who the paying audience is for this. It’s a bit much for very young kids, and I’m not sure about what older age group it fits. It’s a fun one to check out of the library for Sherlock Holmes fans. ( )

**received from the publisher as a finished copy.
Biographical children’s books are one of my favourite sub-genres at the moment, because (providing that they’re well written and well illustrated) they provide an accessible and entertaining way to reimagine the stories of people’s lives. Sherlock is one of my top literary characters, but with his author likely being chronicled by lacklustre Victorian-style biographies I’ve always skipped getting into his life story until now. Linda Bailey dives right in to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story, framing the narrative with an intriguing question that poses the reader as a biographical detective: wouldn’t it be wonderful to have written the most famous detective? It seems like a pretty simple mystery to solve (fame, adulation, success!), but the reality is laid bare as we discover more about his life as an author and his eventual annoyance with the popularity of Sherlock Holmes. Bailey tells the story succinctly, giving plenty of detail to bring the Victorian era to life, but her language is somewhat lacking in character; it doesn’t fit the more casual and inclusive attitude of many current children’s books, nor does it attempt to mimic a more stylized Victorian tone to set the mood, so it comes off as a bit bland throughout. Thankfully, bolstering the book are a wonderful set of illustrations by Isabelle Follath. There are plenty of era-specific artists whom she could have drawn inspiration from, but I am actually glad that she went her own way. Her colour palette is muted, with brighter tones only appearing in moments of storytelling whimsy, but the composition is very well thought out and each scene has a distinct sense of action that enlivens the story. A careful use of texture and line (especially in the characters’ clothing) brings a detailed touch to each piece, and elevates what could have been rather simplistic cartoons to illustrations worthy of being paired with the story of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. By the final pages the mystery has been revealed: Doyle may have found his success in his detective, but things are not so simple as they appear on the surface - an ending fit for this short biography of the man who wrote Sherlock. ( )

My son read it and he gave it a rating of 3 stars out of 5. He didn’t like it nor did he dislike it. But he is interested in reading the stories about Sherlock Holmes. ( )