Review Detail

A talking radio is at the heart of this cute story about Davina and her friends who solve mysteries based on clues they receive from their magical radio. It is Davina’s twelfth birthday and she’s celebrating with her best friends Fabie and DeBrina. Her world famous detective uncle can’t make the birthday party but he sent a gift with a note in a big box. When the girls open it, they find a big, old radio and are puzzled about the present. DeBrina tries to plug it in but there’s no plug. She tries to find a place for batteries, but that doesn’t exist either.

When the girls turn it on, the announcer welcomes them by name and plays their favorite songs. Scary, huh? But soon the announcer tells them to get a pencil and paper so they can jot down the clues to the first mystery they need to solve entitled “Kitten. Kitten. Who’s got the Kitten?” and the three young detectives are off on their first case.

Steven D. Bynum has created fun characters in Davina, Fabie and DeBrina. They are bests friends and it shows in the way they joke around with each other and care about each other. The writing and story are simple. The mysteries aren’t too scary and of course, there’s a happy ending. Davina’s Magical Radio is a good story for early readers.