Product Description

Ted Hammond loves a good mystery, and in the spring of his fifth-grade year, he's working on a big one. How can his school in the little town of Plattsford stay open next year if there are going to be only five students? Out here on the Great Plains in western Nebraska, everyone understands that if you lose the school, you lose the town.

But the mystery that has Ted's full attention at the moment is about that face, the face he sees in the upper window of the Andersons' house as he rides past on his paper route. The Andersons moved away two years ago, and their old farmhouse is empty, boarded up tight. At least it's supposed to be.

A shrinking school in a dying town. A face in the window of an empty house. At first these facts don't seem to be related. But Ted Hammond learns that in a very small town, there's no such thing as an isolated event. And the solution of one mystery is often the beginning of another.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35091 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-20
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5–Ted Hammond is the only sixth grader at a one-room school in a small Nebraska town in this novel by Andrew Clements (S & S, 2006). The town is facing a financial crisis and hence a shrinking population. When Ted sees a girl's face in the window of one of the abandoned houses on his paper route, he can't resist investigating this mystery as he is an avid reader of detective novels and tries to solve each crime halfway through the book. This real-life mystery proves a little more difficult as Ted struggles with keeping a family's secret and knowing when to ask for help from adults. Narrator Keith Nobbs gives the story a youthful but wise voice, adding just the right touch of emotion and humor. He uses his voice to distinguish between the various characters, and appropriately portrays Ted's compassion and confusion as he grapples with his secret and his town's (and thus his own) unstable future. Clements's characteristic style of blending comedy with drama makes this an honest and pertinent story for readers who like realism and a touch of mystery.–April Mazza, Wayland Public Library, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Ted Hammond is the only sixth-grader in his one-room school. He's smack dab in the middle between four eighth-graders and four fourth-graders. His singular status gives him plenty of time to pursue his passion, solving mysteries. His deductive skills have been honed through the careful solving of every literary mystery he has been able to get his hands on. When he spots a face in the window of an abandoned house while delivering newspapers, he has a chance to apply his skills to a real-life mystery. Keith Nobbs captures the realism and humor of Clements's story, creating a believable setting and breathing life into all the characters. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 3-5. In a one-room school in a small Nebraska town, Ted is the lone sixth-grader sandwiched between four fourth-graders and four eighth-graders. Besides doing his chores on the family farm, he delivers newspapers, attends 4-H Club meetings, and enjoys reading mystery books. Riding his paper route one morning, Ted spies a girl's face in the window of an abandoned farmhouse. He puts his detective skills to the test as he tries to discover who she is, why she is there, and how he can help her. Though the mystery element in the plot is relatively mild, the story is strong enough that readers will want to find out what will become of Ted's vulnerable new friend. When she entrusts him with a secret, he must decide how best to honor that trust while helping solve her family's dilemma. The convincing, contemporary rural setting is an inextricable element of the novel, which is illustrated with small black-and-white sketches that enhance the refreshingly innocent tone of the story. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Book Review by Brooke
Ted Hammond is a boy who loves mystery books. He goes to a school with only one room and one teacher and three of four grades. Ted is the only one who is in sixth grade.
I think you should read this book because you have to think about it carefully. And you solve mysteries. Some mysteries that are going the right way go the wrong way at the end. Is the school going to stay open or not?

Room One A Mystery or Two
Room One a Mystery or Two is a very good story. It was a quick read that kept you guessing. Ted Hammond, the only sixth grader in his school, loves nothing better than a good mystery. He can usually solve them before the author does in the story. So he has learned a lot of tricks from the best detectives. Ted now has two real life mysteries to solve. How can he save his one room school from being shut down? And who was the girl he saw in the window of the abandoned house? I enjoyed the story and was surprised by the ending.

On another note, as a teacher I would like to use this in my fourth grade class to teach making inferences. The author does a very nice job explaining how Ted drew the conclusions that he did. Mr. Clements also showed how Ted made connections text-to-world and text-to-self. I can't wait to incorporate this into a unit next year.

An okay story
Andrew Clements is an amazing author. I didn't feel that Room One was one of his best, however. It was okay. There were a few exciting parts, but it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be. It's a great mystery, but I don't think the characters are that well-developed. Again, like most of Clement's children books, it's about an ordinary kid who makes a difference in the world.