Something tells me Mac Barnett was not just a quirky kid, but is a quirky adult. His new series, Mac B., Kid Spy Volume One: Mac Undercover proves this. The Mac B. series are true stories about how Mac was a (wait for it) a spy. But not just any old spy. No, he was a kid spy for the (again, wait for it) Queen of England (does not matter he lives in the United States and has to go to school tomorrow). As farfetched as that might sound, the adventures Mac gets into on his very first case are even more crazy and wild. Thankfully, the Queen lent him one of her corgis, Freddie. And like Mac, Freddie might be a runt, but he has his talents (like being an awfully good licker).
Set during the 1980s some of the pop references might not resonate with the modern reader. However, Mac does give basic descriptions and kid-like drawings to help explain Game Boys, illegal blue-jeans and other culture of Barnett’s (and my) youth. In the spirt of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Encyclopedia Brown, this is for the readers of those series or not quite ready for them. The narrator (Mac himself) might sometimes be clueless (literally) but he has a lot of spunk.
The adult, will see the imaginative tales of a very active child. The young reader will be convinced these are real stories (after all, a kid never lies, right?) about a Kid Spy. Aimed at the reluctant reader, but the established reader will not be “talked down” to. Totally tongue-in-cheek, some history sprinkled in to pepper the story with context but does not drag it down and a lot of good fun, Mac B will probably become a new go-to series for kids.