Who in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

By: Rebecca Tinker

Narrated by: Kyla Garcia

Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

The globe-trotting thief in the red fedora returns! And now, the question isn't where—but who? In the role of Carmen Sandiego, award-winning performer Kyla Garcia reveals, for the very first time, the backstory of the ever-elusive master criminal whose whereabouts captured the imaginations of children everywhere— through educational video games, animated series, and a popular PBS "gameshow" for middle schoolers in the 1990s.

In this novelization based on the new Netflix animated series, you'll discover there's even more to the story. More action, more details, more twists. And you'll hear from Carmen Sandiego herself how the mastermind behind some of the most audacious capers ever conceived became the best thief on the planet. Don’t miss your chance to learn who in the world is…Carmen Sandiego. 

©2019 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Carmen Sandiego and related characters are trademarks of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and used under license. Published by special arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Great for kids, not for adults

I listened to this with my nine year old who was riveted by the story and narration, but I was bored out of my mind. I at least thought I might learn some geography, but no, not really. The story is simplistic and somewhat fantastical - a fun and indulgent read for kids, but not something parents and kids can really enjoy together.

Enjoyable Listen. World Building For A New Game?

Having grown up at the right time, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was a constantly played game on my computer. It was fun. It was educational. It was annoying frustrated that I never caught the thief but only got the stolen artifacts back. Now this fun is back for a new generation with a twist which gives a background and personality to the greatest thief in the world.
I enjoyed this book as an adult looking back on the computer games and Rockapella singing the earworm of a theme song. I can see this as a future platform game, still educational in its focus with geography and history, with "Player" being the person playing the game.
Narration by Kyla Garcia was spot on for the character.. I haven't watched any of the Netflix series yet to see if it is comparable to Gina Rodriguez as the title character. She has a natural flow for this story which is engaging.
This does make me want to go ahead and watch the Netflix series now. Maybe even with my kids.

Life was better when Carmen was a felon...

I’d hoped this would resurrect childhood memories of trying to capture the ever elusive Carmen Sandeigo. It didn’t. In this book Carmen has been whitewashed. Instead of being one of the world’s greatest villains, she’s turned into a goody-two-shoes that stops V.I.L.E. criminals herself. The writing was decent, but the story lacked what was so great about the original character and purpose - I got to be the hero to save the day.

The lady in red

Excellent blast from the past. I enjoyed learning the origins of a child hood hero.

My Childhood

This book brought back so many memories of watching this show after school. I cannot express enough how much I appreciated and LOVED this story. To find out the background on my favorite red- coated super thief has made me so happy.

Written for children

This was too brief of story to be well-thought-out. It was a rapid-fire trip down Carmen Sandiego’s past. It would have been really interesting to me when I was 12, and I’m not sorry I listened to it, but it’s absolutely a children’s/YA book.

I love this story

I love this story so much and I'm so happy that there is a series now too! Carmen shows that girl power is a real thing and takes you on the other side, showing that the bad side isn't really that bad. her life is very interesting, and also are her friends and enemies. I think the most interesting thing though is her personality. She is very curious and persistent and will not give up. I have already watched the first season and it is full of excitement. and twists, so is this story.It teaches you that the most valuable things in life aren't worth millions of dollars, but priceless and doesn't have to be a huge gem but your closest friends. I think that anyone should read this and enjoy it a lot. it is one of the best stories ever in my opinion.

Very disappointing

Its just copy and paste practically line for line from the Netflix show nothing new or more to the story like in the description.
The reader is very boring and gives bland reading it was annoying.

Great Story

This book was excellent. My kids and I listened to the entire thing in one day. In fact they would not get out of the car because they wanted to finish it. Would recommend for any parents who remeber Carmen San Diego from their childhood.

Fun, quick listen

Kinda lame how she got her name, but it makes sense. Nice quick and easy listen. Makes me want to watch a few episodes from the show.

Great book!

I like the mystery of this book and I would recommend it to 8 to 12 year olds.

Hmmm

I like it but I wish there was more whether like the episodes or just make it longer but over all five stars!!!!

Excellent (though you should watch the show first)

A very good companion piece to the animated series! This book includes lots of great details about the characters and settings whilst also adding some interesting depth to them. You shouldn't really read/listen to it if you haven't watched the show however, because it's essentially a more detailed retelling, and the show does a better job with pacing (also the artwork in the show is beautiful, so definitely check that out first). If you are a fan of the series, you'll be sure to enjoy this, particularly if you need a recap before season 2. I think it did a good job of building on the foundations of the story to add more layers to the characterisation and history of the narrative.