My Mom Is a Spy (My Mom Is a Spy #1)

Idris and Lucía must combine their veterinarian and secret agent skills to save Idris’s mother from a sinister fate in this laugh-out-loud chapter book series opener by McNab (Payback) and British TV personality and veterinarian French. Idris is certain that his boring mother, Sarah, who works at Bingo Blott’s Paperclip Factory, can’t be a spy. But secret agent enthusiast Lucía, the daughter of his mother’s boyfriend, David, insists that Sarah’s humdrum job is a cover for a double life as a covert operative. Idris isn’t convinced; moreover, he believes that David’s job as an exotic animal veterinarian at Central Zoo is way cooler than being a spy. As an aspiring vet, Idris is thrilled when Sarah suggests a visit to the zoo, but Lucía—armed with her spy bag, which includes spare batteries for her hearing aid—is more interested in unraveling the mystery behind three recently disappeared pangolins. The two tweens come together, however, when Sarah is kidnapped by a malevolent zookeeper. Energetic b&w illustrations by Reed (Flea Seeks Dog), which depict fast-paced action and render zoo animals with lively expressions, enhance this spry adventure. Idris and Sarah cue as white; Lucía and David are Latinx. Ages 7–10. (Nov.)