A boy's tale no self-respecting boy will like! - Rated 
Emil is the much-loved hero of Erich Kästner's series of books for children set in the 1920 and 1930s, and in Emil and the Detectives we encounter the little fellow going to Berlin to meet his grandmother and cousin. En route, he falls asleep and awakes to find that one of his companions in the train has stolen his money. Naturally, he won't have any of this, but recognising that it was unlikely that any policeman would take his word against that of an adult (and recalling with embarrassment and fear that the police might indeed arrest him for painting a moustache on the statue of a famous man in his village), he decides to follow the thief himself. He then encounters an entire cohort of kids who offer to help him out, and with true Prussian sang-froid, run the thief down. Everything ends well. As far as sophistication goes, I dare say a five-year old might find this entertaining - there's far too much of the smug and upright here to interest any hot-blooded child older than that. Contrasted with the naughtiness and scrapes of Richmal Crompton's William, Emil is a pale imitation. He insists that he will fight anyone who thinks he is a mummy's boy just because he is protective of his mother and far too responsible for his age, but this is too mild a protest to convince anyone. There are a couple of other jaunty boys who are superficially more appealing, and might have made far better heroes. Oh well. When I checked out the book, the librarian sighed 'I loved this one', and frankly I'm baffled why. If this is the sort of book that has been thrust upon generations of British boys by a feminised teaching community, I'm not surprised that they have been permanently turned off reading.
Its OLDIE but a GOODIE - Rated 
I had this read to me at school in the 1970s and remembered it recently. I read it to my 8 year old and we laughed and were GRIPPED. The story( a theft on board a train to Berlin adn Emils detection) all came back to me and although there were a couple of things to explain, the book retains the sparkle it had the first day it was published. Lovely drawings ( just the right amount) and nice font make it very pleasing to the eye.
This is a book that will make you look forward to your child's bedtime!
That is why it is a Classic - Rated
As a child, this must have been one of my most favourite books. 30 years on and bored reading the Horrid Henry books to my son, I decided to find this book and read it to my son, and we had great fun in reading this book. This story maybe from a different decade; however, with such an enchanting story, that is told with sheer vividness, that my son has told all his friends about it and even bought a copy for his best friend. I highly recommend this book, as it's not only a good read; it has some good moral lessons.
Detecting the future - Rated
This is a subtle and careful book that also is able to make some very good points. The boys in the story live in Nazi Germany before the war breaks out. They are just boys hanging together (in the same class....) and facing a thief that steals but belongs to another world and another class, but not a school class...
Read it with Treblinka and Leningrad and the battle for Berlin 15 years later on the same streets at the back of your mind. Where were Emile and his friends during those days...if they survived that long....see the Eidelwise Piraten resistence movement.
Simple fun - just like children's games - Rated
I don't know how many times I have read this book. I read it first when I was about 9 or 10, and though the title has been clearly lodged in my memory, I keep forgetting what the book is about. So I bought a copy though I'm well past being a child.
'Emil and the Detectives' shows what Kastner is all about. The plot is simple, but at the same time well-set, characters are fun and unique, the dialogue quite witty, and the message ever so clear. This is his most practical, simple, and easy-read at best. I also love his 'Flying Classroom' and 'Parent Trap', but this book, while aimed at slightly younger audience, also has the quintessential simplicity and characters we can warm to in big helpings.
The only disappointing thing is that it is perhaps too thin a book for these detectives and Emil.
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