The Case of the Missing Cutthroats

By Jean Craighead George

Book Overview

This mystery begins when Spinner, a New York City native who would rather pirouette than fly cast, catches the family prize--much to her boy cousins' dismay. The prize fish, a huge cutthroat trout, had been thought to be extinct in the river, and Spinner and her cousin set out to solve the mystery of how this one spectacular cuttroat survived until Spinner reeled him in. HarperCollins is pleased to republish Jean Craighead George's fourth ecological mystery, which was first published in 1975 as Hook a Fish, Catch a Mountain.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0064406474
• ISBN13: 9780064406475
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great connections to life

My students monitor the river that runs through our town. We have seen the water quality improve over the years and are always looking for things we can do to help the river. This book talks about the same tests that we perform on the river. The kids really enjoy how the characters collect information to solve the mystery and how they help the local ecology.

This Is A Great Book!!!!!!!!

When Spinner and her dad go fishing for the weekend her dad promises her if she caught a whopper he would throw it back,but when she catches the family prize cutthroat trout her father keeps him. These kinds of fish are very rare in that part of the river so Spinner and her brave cousin Al set off to solve "The Case of the Missing Cutthroats"!

Gifted Third Grade

I teach a third grade classroom and wanted to introduce mysteries to my students. I chose this book thinking it would provide an appropriate challenge for my top readers. They staged a protest after making a list of tough vocabulary. "Crepuscular" pushed them over the edge. Out of 7 very good readers, 3 wanted to keep with the story. I recommend this title to teachers above the third grade level or for gifted students. One thing that I truly liked about this story, is the 13 year old, female, main character. She is a wonderful role model for other 13 year old girls.