From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-A young narrator who wants to be a detective when she grows up tells the story of the English colonists who went to Roanoke Island in 1587 and disappeared almost without a trace. A framed box of text, multicolored Post-its that define words, and a small notebook page that fleshes out information are laid over each double-page, pencil-and-watercolor painting. The balanced text is written in declarative, factual language that can be a bit abrupt at times and leaves little room for the poignancy and drama that is inherent in the story. A two-page concluding section offers a time line and five traditional theories of what might have happened, each followed by questions that help test the premise. The narrator prompts children to come to their own conclusions from the clues presented. The idea is an intriguing one but answers to some of the questions are available only through additional research or speculation. In addition, pieces of evidence that might be helpful, such as tree-ring evidence of a possible great drought at the time, are omitted. A detective trying to come up with reasonable theories would also benefit from a good map. Both text and full-color naturalistic illustrations are attentive to the Native American perspective, and Colonial attitudes toward native peoples are explained, as are the results of those attitudes. While appeal is limited, the book may prove useful despite its flaws.Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 2-5. As in The Mary Celeste (1999) and The Wolf Girls (2001), this picture book for older children is framed by a fictional story about a detective's daughter who investigates a famous historical mystery. Here she tells readers about the founding of the Roanoke colony in 1587. It seems the colony's leader, who departed to obtain supplies, returned to find the colonists gone. The girl sets forth several theories and questions about what may have happened to the "lost colony," letting readers examine the facts and draw their own conclusions. There's a lot going on here: a framework story, the historical account, the ending hypotheses, and the addition of "notebook pages" with background information; children may need to read the book more than once to take it all in. The large, picture-book format offers plenty of scope for Roth's appealing narrative illustrations in watercolor and pencil. An attractive, intriguing introduction to the lost colony. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
In 1587 John White was chosen by Sir Walter Raleigh to lead a new colony at Roanoke off the Atlantic coast. After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished. The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort's posts. Some people think that the Spanish army captured the colonists; some people think that the local native people murdered them; others think that the colonists went off to live with the native people and start a new life. Still others think that the colonists tried to sail home to England and were lost at sea. No one knows for sure. Become a detective as you read this true story, study the clues, and try to figure out the fate of the lost colony of Roanoke. The Unsolved Mystery from History series is written by acclaimed author Jane Yolen and former private investigator Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Read carefully and check your clues. You might be the first to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for years.


About the Author
Poet, novelist, storyteller, and picture-book author Jane Yolen has won five awards for her body of work in children's literature: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the Keene State Award, the Boston Public Library's Literary Lights for Children Award, and the Anna V. Zarrow Award. Her many books include Owl Moon, which won the Caldecott Medal, Moon Ball, and Where Have the Unicorns Gone? Her daughter, Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple, has worked as a parole officer and a private investigator, and wrote Meet the Monsters with Jane Yolen. The two also collaborated on The Wolf Girls: An Unsolved Mystery from History and The Mary Celeste: An Unsolved Mystery from History. Jane and Heidi both live in Hatfield, Massachusetts.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In 1587 John White was chosen by Sir Walter Raleigh to lead a new colony at Roanoke off the Atlantic coast. After bringing many men, women, and children to the new land, White went back to England to gather supplies for the long winter. But when he finally returned to the fort almost three years later, he found that all of the colonists had vanished. The only signs of life left were the letters CRO carved into a tree and the word CROATOAN carved into one of the fort's posts. Some people think that the Spanish army captured the colonists; some people think that the local native people murdered them; others think that the colonists went off to live with the native people and start a new life. Still others think that the colonists tried to sail home to England and were lost at sea. No one knows for sure.

Become a detective as you read this true story, study the clues, and try to figure out the fate of the lost colony of Roanoke. The Unsolved Mystery from History series is written by acclaimed author Jane Yolen and former private investigator Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple. Read carefully and check your clues. You might be the first to solve a puzzle that has baffled people for years.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The third volume in the Unsolved Mystery from History series, Roanoke: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple, illus. by Roger Roth, once again invites readers to use their detective skills to solve a puzzle from the past. In this intriguing entry, English colonists at Roanoke vanish sometime between 1587 and 1590, accompanied by atmospheric pencil and watercolor artwork. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Susan Hepler, Ph.D.

Third in the "Unsolved Mystery from History" series, this volume examines the background of the famous "lost colony" of Roanoke off North Carolina's Atlantic coast. The facts are presented in a boxed narrative while sidebars, in the form of a girl-investigator's spiral-bound notebook and vocabulary defined on yellow Post-It notes, include extra information. Although there were no survivors apparent when John White finally returned from England, rumors, clues such as nearby Lumbee tribe members with family names the same as some Roanoke settlers, and a recently discovered signet ring provide tantalizing bits of information for detectives to mull. As in previous titles, the authors summarize in Q&A format the five theories put forth by historians and, in one case, folklorists (Virginia Dare became a white doe when she refused to marry an old medicine man), and re-present the evidence. Says the girl detective whose investigations frame the story, "I've got my own theory about what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke. And maybe￯﾿ﾽnow￯﾿ﾽyou do too," a sure invitation to go back and read the book one more time to check your theory. Roth's watercolors, some with textured pencil detail, evoke the era unobtrusively. The only thing this mystery lacks is a map so that young readers unfamiliar with Roanoke can place the story geographically. Otherwise, it's a fine contribution to middle elementary history studies and a good open-ended mystery in its own right. 2003, Simon & Schuster, Ages 7 to 10.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-5-A young narrator who wants to be a detective when she grows up tells the story of the English colonists who went to Roanoke Island in 1587 and disappeared almost without a trace. A framed box of text, multicolored Post-its that define words, and a small notebook page that fleshes out information are laid over each double-page, pencil-and-watercolor painting. The balanced text is written in declarative, factual language that can be a bit abrupt at times and leaves little room for the poignancy and drama that is inherent in the story. A two-page concluding section offers a time line and five traditional theories of what might have happened, each followed by questions that help test the premise. The narrator prompts children to come to their own conclusions from the clues presented. The idea is an intriguing one but answers to some of the questions are available only through additional research or speculation. In addition, pieces of evidence that might be helpful, such as tree-ring evidence of a possible great drought at the time, are omitted. A detective trying to come up with reasonable theories would also benefit from a good map. Both text and full-color naturalistic illustrations are attentive to the Native American perspective, and Colonial attitudes toward native peoples are explained, as are the results of those attitudes. While appeal is limited, the book may prove useful despite its flaws.-Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews