Not an Alphabet Book: The Case of the Missing Cake

by Eoin McLaughlin (Author) Marc Boutavant (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Follow Bear from A to Z as he hunts for a cake thief in a hilarious alphabet book crossed with a whodunit.

There has been a terrible crime, Bear tells us. Someone has STOLEN a delicious chocolate cake! Bear sets off to find the culprit, questioning characters and compiling clues from A to Z. Among the suspects: a gingerbread man (G) with a bite out of his head, a kite (K) that may be above the law, and an octopus (O) with grabby tentacles. But -- hold on -- are those crumbs on Bear's page? Is that frosting on his face? Looks like our narrator is a little unreliable! And it appears our culprit might be the one that Bear wants readers to suspect the least of all. . . . Author Eoin McLaughlin's sly, cheeky humor takes the alphabet book to inventive new heights, while best-selling illustrator Marc Boutavant's smart and striking graphic-style art matches the irreverent tone. Young ABC learners and older fans of funny stories will laugh out loud at Bear's uproarious "investigation" and his anything-but-usual suspects.

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$17.99

Kirkus Reviews

Starred Review
Boutavant's bright, large-scale illustrations are filled with delightful details, and Bear's overwrought reactions are positively loony. This is a perfect vehicle for reading aloud or reading together over and over with lots of opportunities for highly expressive emoting and giggles galore. Goofy, hilarious, laugh-out-loud fun for all.

Publishers Weekly

Bear had planned to walk readers through "a simple alphabet book." But this admirable intention is put aside as he instead searches for the nefarious thief who has disappeared the "completely delicious, tongue-jinglingly chocolaty cake" that previously accompanied the letter C. It is evident from the brown smudges on his face and some very cagey behavior that McLaughlin's (The Hug) narrator is both unreliable and unrepentant, but Bear brazenly plows ahead, and digital vignettes by Boutavant (the Ariol series), set against white backgrounds in the style of a midcentury primer, make the melodramatic interrogations of other alphabet representatives all the funnier ("You've got a history of stealing sweet treats, Mr. Fox. How do you plead?"). Some readers may be momentarily upset that Bear is able to mobilize another against innocent Pig, who is banished to the dreaded page 27--an ice floe on which xylophone music is played nonstop. Justice finally does prevail, however, just not until those reading aloud have had the opportunity to assume a variety of modes, from high anxiety ("I have a wife! I have a family!") to not-so-righteous indignation. Ages 2-5. (Aug.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Eoin McLaughlin
Eoin McLaughlin is the author of several picture books. When he is not writing for children, he works as a copywriter for Channel 4 in the U.K. Born in Ireland, Eoin McLaughlin has lived in Amsterdam and New York, and now lives in London with his wife and their baby.

Marc Boutavant is an award-winning graphic artist, illustrator, and comic-strip creator whose works include the best-selling Around the World with Mouk, now an animated TV series. His picture books include The Great House Hunt and Never Tickle a Tiger, among many others. Born in Bourgogne, France, he now lives in Paris.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781536212679
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
August 20, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV009010 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Alphabet
JUV020000 - Juvenile Fiction | Interactive Adventures
Library of Congress categories
Bears
Lost and found possessions
Lost articles
Alphabet
Alphabet books
Cake

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