Enigma: A Magical Mystery - Hardcover

Base, Graeme

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081097245X ISBN 13: 9780810972452

Publisher: FBAPowersetup, 2008

Synopsis

Bestseller Graeme Base harks back to his classic New York Times bestselling solve-the-mystery story The Eleventh Hour in an all-new book that will “puzzle” and entice young readers.

 

Enter a magical world in this warm, funny, and enduring story about the special relationship between a grandson and his grandpa—and their love for magic.

 

Bertie Badger loves to visit the Retirement Home for Elderly Magicians and watch his grandpa perform magic tricks. But one day all the magicians’ props go missing, so Bertie sets off to investigate. Can he solve the mystery in time to save the show? This clever book will engage readers as they are challenged to solve the mystery along with Bertie, discovering where the missing props have gone by using a decoder included with the book that reveals the mystery.

 

Graeme Base, creator of Animalia and many bestselling and beloved books for children, conjures up an inventive, irresistible tale.

 

F&P level: S

About this title

About the Author

Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book, Animalia, received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986 and has sold more than two million copies. Graeme lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

Grade 3–6—Someone has stolen the props belonging to the residents of a retirement home for magicians, and Bertie Badger, the grandson of one of the illusionists, vows to find them. As he meets the performers, they each tell him a little about their specialty and what's missing. "My top hat, cape, and wand have gone, but there is worse to tell:/My precious magic bunny rabbit's disappeared as well!" Bertie discovers the thief, but it is left to readers to find the lost items hidden in the illustrations. Base's visual mystery books have delighted children for years, but this one has the added feature of a moving panel in the back cover that reveals a secret code. Children must turn dials to proper settings before it can be moved. The clues for setting them appear in the illustrations but are not at all obvious. With a little persistence, however, the target audience should be able to solve the puzzle. After readers crack the code, they can search for the missing items hidden in the art and decipher other messages found in the end matter. The book is not as philosophical as Base's Uno's Garden (2006) or as entertaining as Jungle Drums (2004, both Abrams), but it has the same style of colorful and detailed illustrations. For readers who don't want to decipher the codes, the story and pictures are satisfying enough to stand alone.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
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Base, the creator of The Water Hole (2001) and Uno’s Garden (2006), applies his hallmark lush artistry to this puzzle/picture book. Rhyming quatrains follow young Bertie Badger as he searches for his grandfather’s missing magical props. Each two-page spread opens up to Bertie in a different room featuring a different performer: Vlad, the Bear of Wrath; Miss Poodle, the Mademoiselle of Mime; Hin Min Floo, Lord Pandamonium. All, it turns out, are missing their favorite magical artifacts. Eventually, the rabbit Enigma fesses up, claiming he was tired of being the one pulled out of the hat and wanted to perform his own tricks. The challenge to uncover the whereabouts of the objects hidden throughout in the art, as well as a call to figure out each character’s country of origin, all but guarantee multiple readings. A fold-out decoder in the back of the book helps decipher the clues, which some children, as well as the adults they ask, will need help with. Young magicians and puzzle-lovers alike will be thoroughly engaged. Grades 2-4. --Ian Chipman

Edition details

• Publisher: FBAPowersetup
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081097245X
• ISBN 13: 9780810972452
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 39