"A Brown Study" [CARD]

Donald J. Sobol died on July 11 of natural causes at age 87. He was the author of over two dozen Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. The small seaside town of Idaville was the same as any other small town except in one respect, fifth-grader Leroy Brown. Leroy's head was so crammed full of facts he was nicknamed "Encyclopedia". Encyclopedia used his brain power to help the neighborhood kids and his police chief father to solve mysteries. He was, in fact "America's Sherlock Holmes in sneakers". With his partner in his detective agency, Sally Kimball--the prettiest and toughest girl in the fifth grade--Encyclopedia charged kids 25 cents to help them with their problems. Encyclopedia's nemesis was an older kid named Bugs Meany.

Read more...

"You Can't Sit There and Play with Me Like a Cat with a Mouse" [ABBE]

We've seen the meetings of greats before: Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud, Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde, Abbott & Costello and Frankenstein. The list goes on.

Now, if your inner MGM child wants to connect with your inner Universal adult, you have the opportunity to see Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes. Because Basil of Baker Street wasn't enough of a murine tribute to Holmes, and because evidently Tom needs to wrack his brain with deducing clues in addition to chasing a wily little mouse, the felonious feline is becoming a Holmesian suck-up in this family-friendly animated feature film. I could summarize the plot here, but would it really matter? If you'd like an official plot summary, Animation World Network has it.

You can take a look at the trailer below:

If you're so inclined, go right ahead and purchase a copy of the DVD. And feel free to check out the other links above for other mash-ups that might be worth a read or a viewing.

Please consider visiting our sponsors from time to time. It helps defray the costs associated with running this site.

"Child's Play" [STUD]

We're closing in on the final days before Christmas, and as you may be aware, the shopping malls can be a danger zone when it comes to parking and fending your way through the crowds. If you're open to the notion of online shopping, we have some solutions for you when it comes to shopping for younger Sherlockians.

If you're looking for some Sherlock Holmes themed activities to introduce the great detective to a youngster in your life, a good place to start is Dover Publications. They've traditionally done a great job with their thin volumes like Six Sherlock Holmes Stories. But they've actually got some other books that will keep the kiddies busy over the holiday break.

• Sherlock Holmes paper dolls
• A Sherlock Holmes sticker book
• A Sherlock Holmes activity book
• A color your own graphic novel of The Hound of the Baskervilles

Of course, there are other items aside from books and crafts for kids interested in the character. We've selected a handful of toys from Amazon that you may want to consider for your (inner) Sherlockian child.



Feel free to browse around - and let us know in the comments section if you have any other recommendations.

"Knowledge Which Would Astonish His Professors" [STUD]

It seems that every time I turn around, I'm hearing of Sherlock everywhere lately. In addition to popular culture references which continue to abound, there are a number of Sherlockians who are doing their part to keep the Master's memory green and are getting some well-deserved press in return.

In particular, two of my good friends and fellow Baker Street Irregulars have recently appeared in print for their respective activities.

The first, Al Silverstein ("Professor Presbury") is a longtime member of the Cornish Horrors of Rhode Island and a recently retired professor of psychology. He is using his free time to give lectures about Sherlock Holmes. He recently spoke at Yale and at the Cranston Historical Society, which was highlighted in A truly Sherlockian evening by the Providence Journal. I've had the pleasure of hearing Al speak many times - it is an experience well worth having - and of enjoying humorous and intellectual conversations with him during many society events. It's part of what makes the game so fun for me.

Similarly, Andy Solberg ("Professor Coram"), who is the current Gasogene of Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City, was interviewed for The Baker Street Irregulars at home in county, which also included quotes from Paul Churchill ("Corot") and Cliffe Hichar. The society was noted for it laid back and comfortable attitude as well as its scholarship. Under Andy's guidance, WTB has sponsored an essay contest to encourage middle school children to read the Sherlock Holmes stories. Although Andy is a relatively recent friend acquired from my BSI Weekend attendance over the last decade or so, he's one of my closest Sherlockian friends and advisors. His work with his local school system is simply great stuff and he's quite the scholar, as his Baker Street Journal articles prove.

It's entirely coincidental, but worthy of note nonetheless: these two articles appeared on the Web on the same day, and both of these BSIs are named after professors in the Canon. And what's more: each of them has been a co-author of an article in the Baker Street Journal that has won a Morley Montgomery Award for the best piece of Sherlockian scholarship in the BSJ for that year.

I'm sure there are lots of these types of activities going on around the world. Do you know of anyone doing something? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!

"All to Rags" [SILV]

Richard Roberts has written Rags to Riches: the Case of the Hire Shop Fiend, a tale in verse describing the events that unfolded at a clothing rental store. He sent me a copy and this is my review of the book after having read it to a test audience - my 3 1/2 year-old.

This delightful book is illustrated with cute drawings that are very welcoming to children. The story, told in verse, is easy to follow and keeps the reader in suspense all the way to the ending, which thankfully, was a happy one.

It concerns a mystery - who shot Saville Row and ripped Tiffany Ball Gown? Along the way, we meet a variety of characters such as Rags, General Homestore Blazer, Poly Esther Dress and the gloves Fingers and Thumbs. The hero of the story, as you may have guessed, is a costume appropriately called Sherlock. There is a hint that there may be further adventures to come...

According to a book review from Children's Webmag, it's "an unusual book, but really good fun." The write that their readers - children - have had a very positive response to it:

"[The children] loved the illustrations and the story made them laugh out loud. Very entertaining for children and parents alike."

I couldn't agree more. And the author is very community-minded: a portion of the proceeds from this unique book go to MDF - the Bipolar Foundation. In addition, he wrote the following in his note to me:

I do hope that the book will introduce younger readers to the world of Sherlock Holmes and help to create a whole new generation of Sherlockians.

So do we. You can learn more about the book and its delightful characters on the Rags to Riches site. We look forward to more.

"A Small Wooden Shelf Full of Books..." [SPEC]

Greg Jordan of the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, WV) has written a very nice first-person perspective about the importance of early encounters with books, titled Sherlock Holmes - and others - Can Inspire Life-Long Love of Books.

In addition to recounting his first meeting with Sherlock Holmes (a somewhat regular feature in The Baker Street Journal - check our online archives for an example), he also notes a youth literacy program called "A Bookcase for Every Child":

Participants in this project help lower income children in the 3 to 5 age bracket get more exposure to reading by giving them their very own bookcase and some gently used books.

This is a wonderful gesture and an inspired program. If children's editions of the Sherlock Holmes canon are included in such arrangements, we can ensure that Holmes isn't lost to the future generations. Similar work is being done by The Beacon Society.

"You evidently don’t know me," [FINA]

Ah, the public - "the great unobservant public" - you can count on them to keep only the most recent events, movies and books at the top of their mind. For example any new Hollywood list of "the greatest ___ movie of all time" typically contains an inordinant amount of recent box office hits.

The publishers Bloomsbury recently asked 16,000 British schoolchildren who their favorite literary villain of all time was. It's no surprise that it was Lord Voldemort - these are children, after all. The top 10 also included Lex Luthor, the Joker (literary?) and Count Dracula.

Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemy, that Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty managed to come in at number 14.

Hey, I'm impressed the kids knew about him at all.

"Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future!" [NAVA]

There was a nice mention of the classic exchange about board-schools in 'The Naval Treaty' in the May 30 Guardian. Ken Lanza was kind enough to forward the article, an excerpt of which is below.

Arthur Conan Doyle, speaking through his alter ego, Sherlock Holmes, likened redbrick Victorian board schools to lighthouses. "Beacons of the future! Capsules with hundreds of bright little seeds in each, out of which will spring the wiser, better England of the future," Holmes says.

But the demands of the modern curriculum, coupled with one the biggest school building programmes since the Victorian age, are putting many of these schools at risk of demolition. Read the entire article here.

And speaking of beacons, you might want to check out the Beacon Society, a not-for-profit scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars that encourages and rewards those who are bringing Sherlock Holmes to the younger generation.