The Case of the Missing Cake opens with Bear welcoming the reader and asking them to join him as he tries to find out who stole the most chocolatey, delicious cake in the world. By visiting things that being with each letter of the alphabet, Bear tries to work out who stole his cake.

The book is quite amusing and kids will enjoy that the book is aimed at them as Bear speaks directly to them to help him locate the cake. As an adult from page one you will already have sussed out who did it, but don’t let on if you are reading with a child!

I love the illustrations especially as they incorporate little clues to who stole the cake. Regarding the choice of words associated with the letters, I was surprised with a few of them such as for ‘X’ they chose Xylophone. I’d have chosen X-ray, as in ‘we’re going to x-ray your stomach to see if the cake is in there’ rather than a penguin playing the xylophone, but hey I’m just a reader and not an author.

For children who like a good giggle and solving mysteries, this book is perfect for them. I would also say it would work as a class read, getting the children to work together to figure out who the culprit is.

Eoin McLaughlin is a picture book writer whose books include The Hug, illustrated by Polly Dunbar, and Secret Agent Elephant, illustrated by Ross Collins.

When he is not writing for children, he works as a Creative Director at Channel 4. Born in Ireland, Eoin has lived in Amsterdam and New York, and now lives in London with his wife and their baby.