What This Book Is About
Sally Stick is a girl who is made of—you guessed it—a stick. Her best friend Fetch is a dog who fetches things (whether you want him to or not). Together, they are detectives, and they have a brand-new mystery to solve. Strange things are happening in their neighbourhood: items are going missing, odd noises are heard at night, and something very suspicious is going on at the local park.
Written by the award-winning Philip Ardagh, one of Britain's funniest children's authors, and brought to life by Elissa Elwick's delightfully quirky illustrations, this book is packed with wordplay, visual jokes, and the kind of gentle absurdity that makes young readers snort with laughter. The mystery is simple enough for early readers to follow along and guess at clues, but the humour is clever enough to make adults chuckle too. It's the second book in the Stick & Fetch series, following the equally hilarious Barking Up the Wrong Tree.
Available at Popular bookstores, Kinokuniya, and the Singapore National Library.
Why We Recommend This Book
For A1-level students (G2), this book is a brilliant entry point into mystery stories—a genre that builds critical thinking naturally.
First, mysteries teach children to read actively. Instead of passively absorbing a story, young readers learn to look for clues, make predictions, and revise their theories—skills that align directly with the inquiry-based learning at UWC's Primary Years Programme.
Second, Philip Ardagh's wordplay is a vocabulary goldmine for EAL learners. Puns and idioms (like "the wrong end of the stick") introduce figurative language in a context where the joke makes the meaning memorable. Children learn English expressions without realising they're learning.
Third, the book's mix of text and illustrations means readers are constantly switching between visual and textual information—a skill that mirrors how information is presented in real-world contexts and international school assessments.
Reading Level Guide
The wordplay may be tricky at Pre-A1. Enjoy the illustrations together with a parent first.
Perfect difficulty. Simple enough to follow the mystery, challenging enough to learn new expressions.
A comfortable, laugh-filled read at A2. The puns land even better at this level.
Other UWC Recommended Books for This Grade
Not sure if this book is right for your child? Take our free English assessment to find their CEFR level, then choose books that match.