Christmas in Cooperstown

Kelly, David A. Christmas in Cooperstown (Super Special #2)
Illustrated by Mark Meyers
September 26th 2017 by Random House Books for Young Readers

Mike and Kate are at the Baseball Hall of Fame wrapping presents for a local charity. One of the organizers of the event, Grace, is also trying to get funding for a new community building where children can spend time but also get access to important social services. The wrapping party turns into a sleepover at the Hall of Fame, and when Mike and Kate do some after hours snooping, they find out that the rare Honus Wagner baseball card in the museum display is actually a fake! Mysteries are right up their strike zone, so they start to look for clues and possible suspects. These range from a famous baseball player who visited the museum to a photographer, but the real culprit turns out to be someone that they were not expecting!
Strengths: Filled with lots of interesting information about baseball history as well as preparations for Christmas, this super special is a power hitter that will leave readers waiting for the next Ballpark Mystery on-deck. I especially liked all of the historical notes at the back, and loved that Mike was able to determine that the Wagner card was a fake with his flashlight. It's also great to see Kate and Mike work together.
Weaknesses: Mike and Kate are shown wearing proper pajamas at the museum overnight event. Do tweens wear actual pajamas anymore? They'd be more likely to wear workout gear, but since I think proper pajamas are a good idea, maybe Meyers should also have put them in robes!
What I really think: These are quick, fun reads for elementary or struggling middle school readers. I would LOVE for Kelly to write a similar series with basketball or football, since those sports books are definitely more in demand. My theory is that people who like baseball are just smarter and more inclined to read books!