A tale told in intricate, finely detailed pictures linked by occasional brief bursts of prose introduces Eloise-like young Ottoline, who shares a large apartment with hair-covered sidekick Mr. Munroe, collects odd single shoes and postcards from her parents (who are generally off on travels) and solves mysteries. Here, she concocts an elaborate scheme to track down a gaggle of missing lap dogs and to trap a cat burglar—who actually turns out to be a cat. Children who linger over the illustrations, ink drawings with occasional highlights in red, will find all sorts of odd, precisely depicted household objects and comical details among the gracefully posed human and animal characters. There’s an abstract air to the whole episode, but the plot trots along smoothly, and Riddell’s distinctive visual style shows off to better effect here than in the cramped art for his Edge Chronicles and other collaborations. Shelve this, the first volume of a projected three, with the graphic novels. (Fiction. 10-12)
