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Summary
Summary
Help Whobert Whover, Owl Detective, keep his woods safe in this hilarious who-who-dun-it.
What happened to Perry the Possum? Whobert Whover, Owl Detective, is on the case!
Did Debbie the Duck whack Perry with her wicked wings?
Or did Freddie the Frog soak Perry in his sickening slime?
And what if the culprit is closer to home than Whobert expects?
Author Notes
Jason June has been in love with love for as long as he can remember. When not writing, he's sending Valentine's cards to his husband, eating candy hearts, and officiating weddings. Jason June is the author of Whobert Whover, Owl Detective and Porcupine Cupid , and can be found online at HeyJasonJune.com.
Jess Pauwels lives in Brussels, Belgium, so she can have the best French fries, the darkest chocolate, and the crunchiest Speculoos in the entire world. With her artist's cap on eight months a year, she mostly draws picture books and magazines stories. She loves caffeine, colored pencils, traveling, and documentaries about monkeys.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Why should adults get all the good unsolved mysteries? Debut author Gallaher's pun-laden whodunit starts with a classic scene: Perry the Possum, "lying awfully still" on the forest floor. Whobert, a self-appointed and self-important detective ("He always tried to keep his neck of the woods safe"), doesn't waste time with details like gathering evidence. He prefers to fling accusations around the forest with a piercing gaze and an accusingly pointed wing. "It was you! You whacked Perry with your wicked wings!" he tells a shocked duck, before moving on to a new suspect. Readers will note, however, that all of the animals seem to be trying to tell Whobert something, and that Perry is both very alive and very annoyed. Belgian artist Pauwel's exaggerated drawings, the assured comic rhythms of the storytelling, and a facepalm-worthy ending (which turns on Whobert's cluelessness and Perry's characteristic possum behavior ) make this a satisfying and rousingly silly read-aloud. Ages 4-6. Author's agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Alli Brydon, Bright Group. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Whobert, owl detective, finds Perry possum flat on his back, looking, well, not alive. "Who, who done it?" Searching for an eyewitness and clues, Whobert accuses several forest animals before learning the truth from the victim. The mixed-media illustrations make clear that Perry is merely playing possum and let young readers in on the joke: Whobert is unwittingly the culprit ("Your...talons gave me such a fright, I played dead"). (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An owl detective tries to discover exactly what happened to Perry the possum.Whobert likes to patrol the forest and keep it safe from danger. So when he sees Perry the possum lying on the ground, he knows something is amiss. "Poor Perry!" Whobert exclaims. "I will find out who, who done it!" He looks around and spots some feathery evidence. It must have been Debbie the duck! (Young sleuths will notice the feathers are red, like Whobert's, not blue, like Debbie's.) "It was YOU! You whacked Perry with your wicked wings!" Whobert declares. With a cleverly placed page turn and anticipated rhyme, Debbie pleads her innocence: "What a quack! It wasn't me, Whobert! It's true! Not guilty: you see, it was" // "Who?" implores Whobert. Invoking every detective element from eyewitnesses to footprints, Whobert interrogates other forest residents. Each creature replies with the same refrain, leading readers to believe that the culprit just may be someone Whobert knows very well. Pauwels' digital forest scenes full of tiny onlookers such as bees, spiders, and worms complement Gallaher's witty wordplay. Readers unfamiliar with the idea of "playing possum" may not fully appreciate the jokethough Perry does explain his unique defense strategy so there is a teachable moment. A cracking whooooo-dunit. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Whobert the Owl fancies himself a detective, and when he spots Perry the Possum on his back, feet up, quite still, he knows he has his next case. First, clues! A handful of feathers makes Whobert point the finger at Debbie Duck, but Fish, Frog, and Beaver also come under suspicion. With all the detecting going on, Whobert doesn't notice that Perry is alive. Finally, the possum himself points the finger of guilt at the real culprit: Whobert! The owl's terrifying talons caused him to play dead, because that's what possums do. Little ones might not quite understand that concept (the word dead isn't mentioned until late), but they will roll with it because of the silly fun in both the text and art. Pauwels' loose-lined pictures feature characters that jump off the page. Kids will laugh at both Whobert's obtuseness and Perry's stealth maneuvers in the background. A little twist at the end puts a bow on the package.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2017 Booklist