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Fabio, the World's Greatest Flamingo Detective #2
Fabio the World's Greatest Flamingo Detective: Mystery on the Ostrich Express
In a small town on the banks of Lake Laloozee lives the world's greatest flamingo detective. His name is Fabio. He's not tall or strong, but slight and pink. And he's very, very clever.It's the height of summer and Fabio and his associate Gilbert are taking a relaxing holiday journey on the fastest train in the world! But no sooner does the conductor call 'All aboard' than a very expensive ruby necklace disappears and the great detective is back on the case!The second book in the hilarious illustrated mystery series by the author of Captain Pug.
128 pages, Hardcover
Published March 3, 2020
About the author
Laura James
18 books12 followersLaura James worked on projects including Veronica Guerin and Slumdog Millionaire before signing herself up for Bath Spa’s MA in Writing for Young People. The adventures of Pug are based on the antics of her very own adventurous dogs, Brian and Florence. Laura lives in the West Country.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 16, 2022
Featured in a grandma reads session.
This book was read over a few sessions - it was campy, cheesy and had fun characters. The villain is a foxy fox, and Fabio himself is rather Humphrey Bogarty. And he has a fun sidekick.
The kids called it long before the end, but they laughed at the very predictable conclusion and were totally feeling super smart.
Worth the time and we got some great laughs out of it!
This book was read over a few sessions - it was campy, cheesy and had fun characters. The villain is a foxy fox, and Fabio himself is rather Humphrey Bogarty. And he has a fun sidekick.
The kids called it long before the end, but they laughed at the very predictable conclusion and were totally feeling super smart.
Worth the time and we got some great laughs out of it!
June 19, 2021
A nice simple mystery that would make a good read aloud to younger children or an engaging book for a reader who has graduated Easy Reader but is not ready for the content of a full on J. Fabio is a clever detective and with the aid of his giraffe sidekick the solve a few mysteries through the book.
March 10, 2021
Super cute! I loved the Agatha Christie inspired theme! I read this aloud to my 4 & 2 year olds. It might be a little over the 2 year olds head but they both loved the colorful illustrations and the fun characters!
October 8, 2024
What a fun, classic-style mystery! It is possible to solve with your kiddo!
October 22, 2025
Great! this was one of the first books I read💙
March 9, 2021
Super cute and colorful! Delightful read for a parent and child to read together.
April 19, 2020
Fabio: The World’s Greatest Flamingo Detective. Mystery On The Ostrich Express is a mystery book by Laura James and illustrated by Emily Fox. It is set in a world where there are no humans, only animals. Fabio is a detective who is known as the world’s greatest flamingo detective and he solves mysteries with his partner George, a giraffe who is terrible at disguise but good at asking questions. They are about to go on vacation to get away from work when they decide to stop at an antique shop to get a watch fixed. It is here they meet an old tortoise who asks for their help. This leads them on a wild chase to find the missing Laloozee Ruby. This book would work great with 3rd graders as it’s a good read for them with appropriate vocabulary and there’s a lot of humor in it. Some noticeable and some not. For instance, George the giraffe is afraid of heights!
I would use this as a class read aloud. It’s separated into chapters so each day could focus on a new chapter. I could ask students to use their inferencing and predicting skills to figure out what may happen.
Another way I would use this book is to teach students to “never judge a book by it’s cover”. This is a lesson that doesn’t become as relevant until the end of the book but it’s a good one. You have a character who you’ve been reading about who seems like they are on the right side but in reality they have ulterior motives. It goes to show that you never know who you can trust and to be on your guard in sneaky situations.
This book was a wow for me because I normally read mystery books that have humans as the main characters and they always have sort of a predictable ending with it being obvious whodunnit but them having to prove that they did it. In this book the author uses foreshadowing in a very good sense that even to me had me fooled. There’s one line in the book where a character says “the jewel was ripped off my neck” but later when they find the jewel it’s still intact. What I liked is that the author waited to come back to this point. It made the whole thing more suspenseful so when they finally brought it back I was astonished.
I would use this as a class read aloud. It’s separated into chapters so each day could focus on a new chapter. I could ask students to use their inferencing and predicting skills to figure out what may happen.
Another way I would use this book is to teach students to “never judge a book by it’s cover”. This is a lesson that doesn’t become as relevant until the end of the book but it’s a good one. You have a character who you’ve been reading about who seems like they are on the right side but in reality they have ulterior motives. It goes to show that you never know who you can trust and to be on your guard in sneaky situations.
This book was a wow for me because I normally read mystery books that have humans as the main characters and they always have sort of a predictable ending with it being obvious whodunnit but them having to prove that they did it. In this book the author uses foreshadowing in a very good sense that even to me had me fooled. There’s one line in the book where a character says “the jewel was ripped off my neck” but later when they find the jewel it’s still intact. What I liked is that the author waited to come back to this point. It made the whole thing more suspenseful so when they finally brought it back I was astonished.
February 17, 2021
Fabio and his friend are taking a vacation and are traveling on the Ostrich Express. When a thief strikes the train, Fabio is on the case to find out who stole just that one gem and why.
Obviously the whole title and setting of this is a little nod to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, but that's where the similarities end. The actually mystery is nothing like Christie's plot. Which is good, since this is aimed at lower grade readers. The who and the why of the theft was actually a well done mystery, with just enough hints that readers can guess who done it but it also isn't glaringly obvious. I like the African setting and the cast of African animals. Hand this to little sleuths along with a pair of sunglasses (several pages of this are bright fluorescent pink and orange!)
No content issues.
Obviously the whole title and setting of this is a little nod to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, but that's where the similarities end. The actually mystery is nothing like Christie's plot. Which is good, since this is aimed at lower grade readers. The who and the why of the theft was actually a well done mystery, with just enough hints that readers can guess who done it but it also isn't glaringly obvious. I like the African setting and the cast of African animals. Hand this to little sleuths along with a pair of sunglasses (several pages of this are bright fluorescent pink and orange!)
No content issues.
March 16, 2020
I’m not sure how many flamingo detectives there are in the world, but according to this fun series, Fabio is the greatest! In this mystery for readers new to chapter books, the Laloozee Ruby has gone missing. Fabio and his well-meaning but not very helpful giraffe assistant Gilbert are on the case. Can they recover the jewels and catch the thief before it’s too late? The neon-colored pages and illustrations add to the liveliness of this entertaining story. Give this to fans of Inspector Flytrap or Mercy Watson and those ready to graduate from Baby Monkey.
April 8, 2021
Fabio is a flamingo who is a detective. He was on a train called the Ostrich Express and only ostriches worked there. Zazie tells people she lost her very expensive ruby necklace and Fabio and his assistant Gilbert start to look for it. Fabio tries to chase a cheetah named Janice because she stole a very expensive ruby from one of Fabio's friends Alfonso. When they finally find the ruby, Fabio realized that the chain of the ruby necklace was not broken, so he figured that Zazie just handed it to Janice and Zazie was just pretending to be a good guy.
September 16, 2020
Fabio and his assistant Gilbert Giraffe are out to capture a jewel thief even though they're on vacation. Ah, the sacrifices one makes when one is a famous detective. Plenty of illustrations in addition to several neon pink and orange pages make for a vivid read. Just as enjoyable as the first in the series. Lively fun for beginning chapter book readers who may challenge themselves to solve the mystery before Fabio.
December 26, 2019
This book series is SO darling!! I got it for my 9 year old son and I am enjoying it as much (if not MORE!) than he is. Great characters, colorful illustrations and very clever story lines. I live the duo of Fabio and Gilbert...just a truly adorable set of stories ... great first introduction to the mystery genre for children.
Read
August 11, 2020This book is so cute. It has great text for visualizing, and I can play the book like a movie in my head. I love the main characters - a flamingo and a giraffe. Fabio the detective is very smart. I also like that Fabio is the flamingo and Gilbert is the giraffe - the main characters' names start with the same letter as their animal, so you don't forget who's who.
September 25, 2020
Everyone loves a mystery set on an express train! Fabio and Gilbert are headed on vacation to the Coral Coast, but fortunately, Fabio's mind never takes a holiday. First, he recognizes a face from the past as they are leaving a jeweler's shop for their train; then when a precious stone is stolen off their train, Fabio conceives a plan to catch the thief. Fun series!
June 26, 2019
Funny, quirky and a real delight. Great characters (not too many to overwhelm younger readers) and some fantastic language - sashayed is a verb you don’t see used often enough in children’s books! Loved it.
July 16, 2019
The second is better than the first... this is a series I want my students to read and something I hope to be able to add to our mystery genre study. I hope more are written and published soon... the kids will too!
September 10, 2019
In this short adventure drama occurs when a ruby gets taken while Fabio and his right hand giraffe are on there!
But can they catch the suspects hyena culprit?
This was a very short quick adventure mystery read with colourful illustrations kids will love.
But can they catch the suspects hyena culprit?
This was a very short quick adventure mystery read with colourful illustrations kids will love.
July 21, 2020
I just love this early chapter book mystery series! It's so charming, the pictures and design of the series is very readable and approachable for beginning readers, and I really love that the stories and language are sophisticated and not watered down, despite the fact that the audience is young.
January 17, 2021
Quite a cute and simple mystery, with fun animal characters. I liked that the illustrations added to aspects of the mystery and their brightness and clean lines will, i’m sure, be popular with those who enjoy graphic novels as well.
September 25, 2021
I read this with my Year 2 class and they loved it. They want to hear more Fabio stories. There is a good use of language. Some unknown words they could ask the meaning and expand their vocabulary but not enough to be boring.
The characters are cute and the illustrations lovely.
The characters are cute and the illustrations lovely.
February 1, 2026
I liked this book because it was funny and full of mystery. Fabio is a flamingo detective who solves a mystery on a train called the Ostrich Express. Fun fact - the train is run by ostriches, and Fabio even wears disguises to spy on suspects!
September 28, 2020
super cute
October 31, 2020
As always my 5yr old loved your books, Laura!
January 28, 2022
Another fun mystery to solve for young elementary kiddos. Again, the coloring in these books just ads to their "curb appeal" and makes the pictures pop.
August 14, 2024
Read this to my 6 year old and he loved it. I thought this one was easier to follow than the first in the series.
September 8, 2024
The most important part of this book is the introduction of the first paragraph in which you will learn how to make your own choices based off your personal experiences and personal circumstances in your life and how to prepare yourself for your future self to live in a world of possibilities that will make your future better for your own self! PS sorry if this is not helpful for your future life but I do hope that you will have a good day today. And please remember that you are not always alone!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews