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Summary
Summary
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: SAuthor Notes
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 (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Akin to The Eleventh Hour, this uber-puzzle of a picture book asks readers to crack codes and find hidden pictures, all in aid of solving a mystery relayed in rhyming quatrains. Young Bertie Badger arrives at the opulent country home of his grandfather, "a conjurer of note" known as Gadzooks the Great, anticipating an extraordinary magic show, but--horrors!--Gadzooks's and the other performers' props have disappeared. Readers could simply hunt for the missing objects, which Base conceals within elaborately detailed paintings, but then they would miss out on the tricky fun of mastering several codes also embedded in the book--not to mention that finding those hidden pictures without benefit of the encoded clues isn't easy, not even for alums of Where's Waldo? For the impatient, Base supplies a huge hint; where Eleventh Hour forced the desperate to break a seal to get answers, readers need not alter anything to avail themselves of help, making this volume a cinch to share. A set of bonus challenges will keep kids (and older siblings) poring closely over the pages for weeks, enthralled. Ages 5-10. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
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.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2008 Booklist
Bookseller Publisher Review
Enigma: A Magical Mystery follows the adventures of young Bertie as he tries to solve the mystery of vanishing magical objects from his grandfather s retirement home for aged magicians. There is a wonderful array of exciting characters to meet as Bertie catalogues the items taken from the magicians as well as clues to be found in every picture as the story progresses. The illustrations are absolutely divine and the narrative is endearing as we also see the close relationship that Bertie and his grandfather enjoy. There are minute details in every picture to help the reader solve the mystery as well an ingenious Enigma code panel to explore at the end of the book. The illustrations are drawn with charm and warmth, which is also reflected in the narrative--a perfect combination for the child reader aged three-plus. Enigma: A Magical Mystery is a beautifully illustrated adventure that will be eagerly devoured by discerning fans and convert new readers to Graeme Base s work. This book will be a must have for schools and libraries and will be booksellers' most effortless picture book sale as Christmas approaches. Natalie Crawford is the childrens specialist at Dymocks Booksellers, Claremont WA
School Library Journal Review
Gr 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Bertie Badger undertakes a magical mystery tour to recover a cache of missing props. In his heyday, Grandpa Badger was a master magician, known as Gadzooks the Great. Now he lives at the Retirement Home for Elderly Magicians, surrounded by old colleagues. Whenever Bertie visits, Grandpa puts on a magnificent show. One day, Bertie arrives to find Grandpa and his fellow residents disconsolate; each has been robbed of a valuable prop (Grandpa's rabbit is missing). Bertie turns sleuth to question all the colorful ex-magicians about their losses. Their stories are as wild as their rooms, rendered in a crisp combination of watercolor, pencil and gouache. The mystery's solution should satisfy readers, who then have the opportunity to go back and find a certain story character hidden in each illustration. Then, Base's pi'ce de rsistance: The back inside cover opens like a secret chamber to reveal a secret-code challenge, with dials and symbols and letters and a magic button. Base's rhyming text is undeniably pedestrian, but his tableaux are stylish and packed with witty touches. (Picture book. 5-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
