The Case of the Missing Cake by Eoin McLaughlin – Book Review
The Case of the Missing Cake by Eoin McLaughlin – Book Review
The Case of the Missing Cake
Not an Alphabet Book
Author – Eoin McLaughlin
Illustrator – Marc Boutavant
Publisher – Walker Books
Pages – 40
Released – 6th February 2020
ISBN-13 – 978-1406372120
Format – hardcover
Review by – Stacey
Rating – 4 Stars
I received a free copy of this book.
This post contains affiliate links.
A graphic, bright, imaginative alphabet book, with a smart and laugh-out-loud whodunit twist.
This was meant to be a simple alphabet book but something has happened. Something horrible. The most terrible crime! The world’s most completely delicious, tongue-jinglingly, chocolaty cake has been … STOLEN!
As Bear travels from A to Z, visiting all sorts of characters, objects and extraordinary places along the way, can YOU help him search for the culprit? But, wait! Are those crumbs on Bear’s page? And are those Bear-shaped pawprints next to the empty cake stand? It seems our narrator might not be as reliable as we first thought…
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.
Book Reviewer – Stacey
Purchase online from:
Amazon.co.uk – Amazon.com – Amazon.in – Blackwells
About the Author
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.
