View source for Damian Drooth, Supersleuth: Football Forgery by Barbara Mitchelhill

{{infobox1
|title=Damian Drooth, Supersleuth: Football Forgery
|author=Barbara Mitchelhill
|reviewer=Linda Lawlor
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=A very good choice for the footie-mad, puzzle-loving young reader. This one will be especially attractive to any young person who has recently learned to tackle books alone.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages= 64
|publisher=Andersen Press Ltd
|date=May 2010
|isbn=978-1849390354
|cover=1849390355
|aznuk=1849390355
|aznus=1849390355
}}

Getting to the end of a story, even one which really grips you, can be hard work if you have only just learned to read independently or are at the younger end of the confident readers range. But ''Damian Drooth, Supersleuth: Football Forgery'' is a slim book (60 pages), with lots of pictures, and a decent-sized font. And it is a proper book, too, with an engaging main character, lots of action and a fascinating mystery, so satisfaction is guaranteed.

Who is selling forged tickets for matches at the Rangers' football ground? Damian Drooth, a young detective with several solved crimes already under his belt, determines to investigate when he discovers that his friend Winston hasn't been allowed through the gate one Saturday because he has been sold a forged ticket. And worse still, Winston is a part of Damian's Detective School, so he should know better than allow himself to be tricked like that. So, Damian has two tasks to accomplish: one, get Winston into the ground for the match. And two, find out who is selling forgeries, and stop them. Needless to say, he accomplishes both tasks with his usual aplomb, although he irritates several adults in the process. He also has to join forces with some annoying girls, something he is very reluctant to do, but true detectives will always be ready to swallow their pride for the sake of the case.

The heroes of ''Football Forgery'' are boys, so there is no doubt this book will appeal to them. And although it is true that female readers are more ready to read books about boys than vice versa, it is very pleasing to see girls playing a vital role in the capture of the baddie. One of these girls even shows a serious, if slightly worrying, talent for picking locks. There are ten chapters, so finishing one will be well within the compass of its target audience, and there is at least one illustration on every double-page spread. The excellent illustrations are by Tony Ross, who is well-known for his lively, cartoon-style drawings which inject humour into stories and make slightly more complex vocabulary items easier to understand. He manages in just a few brush-strokes to show us an irate Mum, a creepy and devious villain, and the utter disgust on Damian's face when he is forced to search through the rubbish by the old garages.

"Football Forgery'' was published just before the World Cup, and so the vocabulary used, while occasionally challenging, is exactly the range of words which young readers will be meeting at home, at school and on television. The topic will help young readers to make a link between the world of books and life around them, and Damian's frustration at the inability of the adult world to take him and his preoccupations seriously will strike a chord with his audience. A good book, which will score a hit in many households!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: Young readers who fancy themselves as detectives will also enjoy the Jack Slater Monster Investigator series, especially [[Jack Slater and the Whisper of Doom by John Dougherty]]. Older readers will love [[Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer]]. 

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