Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, by Christopher Paul Curtis

I just finished Mr. Chickee's Funny Money, an old new book from Christopher Paul Curtis. (His website reveals that this book was written at the same time as The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, but was only published at the end of 2005.)

Despite the book's place on NYPL's 100 books from 2005 list, I have to say that this book is kind of a mess.

The book centers on Steven, nine year old founding member of the Future Detectives of Flint and the second smartest id in his class. When Steven receives an envelope from Mr. Chickee, a senior citizen for whom Steven runs errands, he doesn't expect to be chased through the streets of Flint by Treasury Department agents.

This book also involves a massive dog, a talking dictionary, James Brown's conk, mind control, and a mother who is forever reading library books about the needs of gifted children.

Parts of Mr. Chickee are very funny, but it is all over the place, starting right after the action's climax and flashing back through the story.

I'm not sure what kids would make of this story; I almost doubt that they would get the parts that I thought were funniest. But maybe I'm wrong? I think this book is a mess, but it is fun watching it turn into a mess. So for that reason, I'd encourage anyone else to read it so that I can hear what you think.