Treml has Sherlock Bones back on the case

Sherlock Bones and the Art and Science Alliance is a mix of clever and fun.

The graphic novel is written for children between seven and nine, but that won’t stop readers of any age having a laugh and flicking through the pages before asking where they can find a copy.

The comic is filled with puns, fun-facts and educational humour that will encourage children to ask questions and learn in an effortless, enjoyable manner.

Sherlock Bones and the Art and Science Alliance is the third in the Sherlock Bones series and tells the tale of a tawny frogmouth skeleton Sherlock Bones, his quiet sidekick Watts the taxidermy parrot, and their animal friends solving the mystery of a seemingly haunted painting in the museum.

Author-illustrator of the award-winning series, Renée Treml, lives with her family on the Surf Coast and has written and illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books including, Once I heard a Little Wombat, Sleep Tight, Playpup, and Wombat Big, Puggle Small.

The equally educational and artistic spin of the series comes as no surprise, as Renée has a degree in environmental science and initially worked in that field before switching over to what the loves most, writing and illustrating children’s books.

“My book takes place in a natural science museum, which is a place I’ve always dreamed of working! The highlight for me is the exhibit design,” she said.

“I spent weeks researching unusual animals and interesting scientific facts to create the Art and Science Exhibition. I then had to create large maps of the exhibit with complex overlays to track where the characters were standing and moving for each page of the book.”

After weeks touring the books around schools and hearing feedback from children, Renée said she has loved seeing how kids enjoy the books for their comic nature while still learning from them.

“My goal is for kids to read and have fun doing it! An aside hope is that they will find an interesting fact about nature or science that will spark further exploration.

“For parents, this is an engaging fun story for kids that contains a lot of sneaky educational science facts.

“For kids, this book will make you laugh as you watch Sherlock and his friends bumble their way through an investigation.”

In the words of Henry Bennet, aged seven spoken to the Herald Sun “The best parts about this story are the many jokes … a lot of kids will like this one because there’s a really good twist at the end.”

Children’s bookseller Kim Gruschow described the book as “an offbeat, fun mystery that is absolutely perfect for readers who have enjoyed the Bed Guys, the Real Pigeons or the Mr Penguin books”.