Spy Guy: The Not-So-Secret Agent

by Jessica Young, Charles Santoso (Illustrator)

Spy Guy is a spy—but not a very good one. He's too loud, too squeaky, and in need of a good disguise. All Spy Guy wants is to figure out the secret to spying. But as the Chief says, that he must discover for himself. With a lot of trial and even more error, can Spy Guy figure out the secret to spying?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Espionage, Adventure, Humor, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2015

About the author

Jessica Young grew up in Ontario, Canada, and now she lives in Tennessee. When she's not making up stories, she loves sharing the creative process with kids. Her books include I'll Meet You in Your Dreams, the Fairylight Friends early reader series, the Haggis and Tank Unleashed early chapter book series, Play This Book, Pet This Book, A Wish is a Seed, My Blue is Happy, the Finley Flowers chapter book series, Spy Guy the Not-So-Secret Agent, and her forthcoming board book, Baby's Here! (2022).

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Just ok. The extra star is for the spider at the end. That little guy is cute.

[Heather McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Spy Guy wants to do is spy. But there are so many things he must learn first: not to speak, move quietly and not be noticed and most of all never give up. Through perseverance and practice Spy Guy masters his craft and traps his first target.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy wants to be a really good spy, but.... he just isn't. So he keeps going back to his Chief (father) to get tips. In the end, he finally seems to catch on to the tricks of the trade.

Illustrations are ok.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spy Guy really wants to be a spy. But he's struggling with the details, like squeaky shoes and sneezes. But with the Chief's help he might just become the best Spy Guy yet!

A good story to teach perseverance.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really funny story about a little boy who wants to be a spy. Very touching father-son relationship.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book--the story, the characters, the art--is cute.

[Kai Seifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great father son bond
Good to read to the class
Kids might be able to read on their own

[Lindsey Rojem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the "A Spy Novel" part of my 2020 reading challenge. This was a really cute story, I enjoyed how hard he tried and that he didn't give up.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay story. The pages and zoom ins did not sync well on either my Kindle or my Kindle Ap. That was frustrating.

PS. The best part of the whole book was the spider at the end.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This engaging picture book is the story of a boy who wants to be a spy. Sky Guy does all sorts of spy tricks on his father but can never surprise him. Finally he does find a way to spy as he discovers a special rule about how to learn to do anything well. Young children love to play spy games and this story will intrigue readers ages 3-7. The bold colorful illustrations will add to the appeal of the story!

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short picture book about a little boy who trying to gain the skills as a spy is ok, nice illustrations. It takes him a while and we have fun on the way as he cocks it up but not in a funny, hilarious Mr Bean, Inspector Gadget or Inspector Clouseau way. It's more circumspect than that.
Suitable for the age group it's geared up for.

[Regina L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spy Guy is on a super-secret, undercover mission to become a better sleuth. His surveillance operations come to a screeching halt because Spy Guy has not quite mastered the art of doing things quietly; this of course is the number one “must” of being a secret agent. He is doing too much talking, squeaking, and his creeping is entirely too cute for onlookers to ignore. He probes his dad, the “Chief” (how adorable is this?!) for the secret to spying, to remedy these not-so-secret situations. The Chief dispenses words of advice, and joins Spy Guy in disguise as they peek around trees, and sneak on their tippy-toes, through town, on a mission. But alas, this mission is a fail too – Spy Guy is full of sneezes and burps and just cannot seem to find a way to spy quietly! The Chief tells him he can master the art of undercover operations if he can manage to spy on The Chief. Will Spy Guy land a “Mission Accomplished” or will another noisy situation make him fail?

“Spy Guy” has a story line that cannot be described as anything less than totally adorable, as “manly” as this father/son spy team is. The illustrations are filled with lots of humor – in fact, they made me start to wonder who is enjoying being a spy more, Spy Guy, or The Chief, the latter of which seemed to be loving every minute of this! I enjoy the clever text, great alliteration and rhyming, and big, bold, but muted, colors of the illustrations. Read more at www.diapers-and-daydreams.com !

[Barb Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spy Guy is not a very good spy but he sure wants to be. He goes to the Chief to ask for tips for those who “seek to sneak.” Every suggestion the Chief offers is carried out by Spy Guy, with no success until... To find out how Spy Guy gains full spy status check out this simple, language rich tale. The sounds and complimentary illustrations by Charles Santoso invite readers into this tale. A great choice for beginning readers and for story times. I’m going to share this one come the new school year. Oh, by the way, Jessica Young was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I have many fond memories of this city because my Dad was born there.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: Spy Guy was a spy. But not a very good one. Spies are sneaky. Not Spy Guy.

Premise/plot: Spy Guy wants to be a spy--a GOOD spy. So since he's having trouble being really sneaky, he seeks advice from the Chief (his father). His father is full of advice, which he gives out a little at a time. Will Spy Guy ever get it right? Will he be able to sneak up on the Chief?

My thoughts: It was cute. I liked it. It's sweet to see a picture book focusing on fathers and sons. But the text itself is not overly sweet or precious. It is action packed. It even has a BURP. I really liked the illustrations too.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

[Kate Puleo Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to Christopher. It's a book we randomly selected off of the shelves at the library. I usually reserve books after reading about them on other blogs, so this was a rare find. A really cute book that wasn't recommended to me by someone else. It's a fun story about a little boy who's trying to be a sneaky spy. The "Chief", his dad, tells him he must discover the secret to spying on his own. He can't tell him. After many failed attempts, he learns from watching a spider.

http://www.momsradius.com/2017/01/juv...

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book about a little boy who wants to learn how to spy on people without anyone hearing him, seeing him, or knowing he's around. He keeps going back to the Chief of Spies (his dad) for advice. Finally, his dad says that when the little boy can sneak up on him and surprise him, then he'll be a spy. This book has a great message about perseverance and hard work leading to the accomplishment of a goal. Also, I love the spider that appears on every page! Very cute!

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. I liked looking for the spider on each page.

But this was the best part (the cat... omg so funny)

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book suitable for 3-4 year olds. Spy Guy wants to be a spy but must learn to be quiet, sneak silently, and hide from people. The text is in rhyming couplets and the illustrations are fun and colorful. It seemed too short to me and I wish there had been more to the story.

[Tin Cheung · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable and funny story about a kid who wants to be a spy guy, but he just seems to need some help. With the advice from the chief, he learns how to be a spy.

Story teaches determination and practice.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are the highlight of this tale of a young boy trying hard to be a sneaky spy. Rhymes feel a bit forced plus there is a "lesson" on the last page (never give up). Definitely holds appeal, though.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute story about a little boy who is trying to learn how to be a spy. The text is very cute and the rhymes are adorable. The illustrations are darling and I would definitely recommend this book.

Ages 3-6.

[Jonathan H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book about a little boy who wants to be sneaky but keeps failing for various reasons. The illustrations are cute, but the text gets a little repetitive.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young spy learning the ropes.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great use of figurative language especially alliterations and rhyme, had great potential in the classroom with these.

[Nickie Cleaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute kids book.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable story of a young secret agent wannabe. He tries his best to be sneaky but something always seems to get in his way.

[Great Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to learn how to be a spy? Learn along with Spy Guy and the Chief to perfect your espionage skills. Great fun for the whole family.

Reviewer 5

[J. Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute and funny story that spy-lovers will really enjoy. There is word play here, really cute illustrations, and a plot that makes you wonder until the end.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I would call an everyone book but for the right kid, it's cute.