Lesson 3: Casting Your Book.
Supplement - Anatomy of a Specific JCB.
“The Orange Outlaw” by Ron Roy is part of the “A to Z Mysteries” series. It has around 80 pages, and several “series” additions, including a plan of the setting and a map to show part of New York City. At the back is a friendly letter from the author, offering contact information and talking about the series. The back cover shows portraits of the three protagonists, and advertises the next book in the series.
The book is illustrated in black and white by John Steven Gurney, with chapter heads, occasional small details and some full-page pictures and spreads. There are eleven chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose in the first line. By the end of the page, we know the children are in New York, standing on Uncle Warren’s balcony, that it is getting dark, that Uncle Warren is friendly and that Dink is imaginative. By Page 5, we know the children are there to attend a block party, that the party is to raise money for the zoo, that Uncle Warren is looking after a Monet painting for a friend and that there is a bowl of oranges in the kitchen. By the end of the chapter, on P 9, we have met two future suspects, heard about security arrangements, learned what a building manager and doorman do, and seen the party begin. We have learned that Josh is always eating. The chapter finishes with Josh saying he’s just seen a flying watermelon.
That’s a lot of information for 700-800 words, and yet the direct simplicity of the telling means young readers won’t feel overwhelmed.
In Chapter 2, we see a fruit juggler and his son, and then an animal handler with a pony and a dressed-up orangutan. Two pages describe a ventriloquist act with a dummy, and then Uncle Warren offers the children some pizza. They eat, and enjoy the party, which is winding down. On the last page, P.17, Uncle Warren announces the painting has been stolen.
This chapter has some “fill” in the ventriloquist act, but introduces more suspects and announces the crime.
In Chapter 3, Uncle Warren calls the police, while the children find peels and orange juice all over the table. More orange peel on the balcony leads them to suspect the thief might have climbed in that way. However, they are 10 storeys up. The police arrive, and the children decide to go and talk to the doorman, who reports that a neighbour saw someone on the balcony. Maybe that was the thief!
This chapter shows clues, introduces the police, and sends the children investigating.
Chapter 4 begins on Page 26. The children investigate some more, and encounter the building manager, who comments that she could have climbed to the balcony when she was young. This sets her up as a suspect. She says the alley was block off during the party by a trailer. This is a clue. On page 30, we learn that Dink's real name is Donald.
By the end of Chapter 5, the children are going to visit the witness who saw someone on the balcony. She is said to have poor eyesight, which sets her up as a possible confederate of the thief.
In Chapter 6, the children spend three pages discussing the case while they clean up the kitchen. Josh finds a red hair, and they go to visit the witness. They tell her about the theft, and learn how she was able to see despite her poor eyesight. This removes her from suspicion. She has written down a description of the thief, which includes the two words "orange hair", and mentions bad posture and baggy clothes. More clues.
In Chapter 7, Uncle Warren helps the children investigate the hair with a microscope. He passes on the neighbour's evidence to the police. They are planning to try to get a sample of the building manager's hair, when they find a photograph of the stolen painting out in the alley.
In Chapter 8, they decide the picture must've dropped when the thief climbed the balcony, and think about fingerprints. In some road sweepings, they find orange peels. The sweeper tells them the animal handler had a trailer, and that his orangutan ate a lot of oranges. The orange hair, posture and oranges hang together and by Page 58, the children have decided the trainer must be the villain.
In Chapter 9, Uncle Warren reports his friend is coming for his painting soon, which cranks up the urgency, and the children explain their theories. Dink finds a flyer that gives the trainer's name and address. The evidence, especially the hair from the kitchen, is enough to take to the police.
In Chapter 10, a "sting" is set up with the help of the police. Ruth Rose poses as a child wanting to hire the pony and orangutan for a party. Everything is going well until Josh makes a mistake.
In Chapter 11, the trainer and his wife recognise Dink and Uncle Warren, but the police spring the trap. The thief challenges them to find proof, which is supplied. Josh finds the painting under the false floor in the trailer. The owner of the painting returns. In the last two pages, Uncle Warren explains that the orangutan will be sent back to Borneo to be rehabilitated, but that the ten-year-old pony is a problem. Ruth Rose offers the pony at home, but explains that it has to be kept at Josh's farm.
In keeping with the young readership, this is a cosy mystery. The police are helpful, Uncle Warren supports the children in their investigations, and the thief, when challenged, fails to offer any violence. His wife seems quite friendly. The scam with Ruth Rose may be unlikely, but it fulfils the criterion that the protagonists should be active in the final solution of the problem.
