WHODONUT?

Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a mystery on their hands.

The beloved duo are invited to a holiday eve party at a “secret address” where renowned author Agatha Crispy will read from her latest, The Mystery Mistletoast Crook. But as they and several other food-themed guests sit down to hear Agatha speak, the lights go dark, and when they come back on, Agatha is empty-handed. Someone has stolen her book. It’s the only copy, and Agatha refuses to let anyone leave until the culprit’s been held accountable. Could it be Baron von Waffle? (He’d “once been a foe.”) Or crafty Biscotti? Everyone’s a suspect—even Pancake and Toast, who are known to be mystery buffs. Can our heroes figure it out and save the day? Funk serves up a heaping helping of puns and wordplay; posters in the background advertise shows such as Beauty and the Beets, while eagle-eyed readers will spot a bust of “Egger Allan Poe” on a shelf in the library. Making use of rich vocabulary, Funk’s rhyming verse lends the tale a singsongy energy perfect for read-alouds. In Kearney’s crisp illustrations, the expressive foods have oversize heads and spindly limbs. Delectable details in the art make for fantastic worldbuilding—Agatha’s face is covered with sprinkles, and she wields a candy cane.

A humorous and tasty whodunit for budding detectives—or burgeoning chefs.