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Miracle Max...Missing in Maryland by Lisa B. C. O'Connell
Miracle Max Mystery Series, Volume I
American Literary Press -- 2000
ISBN: 1-56167-642X -- Paperback

Reviewed by Jo Rogers, MyShelf.com
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MIRACLE MAX...MISSING IN MARYLAND is the first in a series of fifty books about Max, a beautiful German Shepherd who loves children. Written and illustrated by Lisa B. C. O'Connell, it is set in the state of Maryland. There is a map of the state in the back of the book, and a list of educational facts about Maryland that children will find useful and
interesting. Ms. O'Connell plans to set one mystery for Max to solve in each of the fifty states and list facts about each.

Besides being educational, the mystery is entertaining. Miracle Max is the daughter of two police dogs, Miracle, her mother, and her father, Max. Though she didn't follow in her parents' pawsteps as police dog, Max still loves a mystery. She uses her keen sense of smell and hearing to guide her as she hunts for her missing family, and the frightened and hurt child that she can hear crying somewhere in the village where she lives.

Max is a wonderful dog, and the story of her Secret Mission also teaches children the value of following their parents rules, even though those rules sometimes seem foolish. They are rules made for a reason, and unless someone else's life is at stake, they should never be disobeyed.

The illustrations in the book are in black and white, and most of them would be ideal for coloring with pencils. It is a book I would want my children to enjoy, if I had any. I would also let them join the Miracle Max Mystery Club. Those details are also in the book. I would like to see the rest of the series, and even more. Max has a lifetime of mysteries to solve.