INSPECTOR BRUNSWICK

Inspector Brunswick and sidekick Nelson solve a dastardly mystery at the art museum.

They could easily be Holmes and Watson in their natty suits and fashionable hats, but Inspector Brunswick is a white cat, and Nelson’s a tan dog. After a busy week of case-cracking, the duo takes a break at the museum. Brunswick feels his whiskers tingle, a sure sign that something is amiss. Indeed, the portrait The Admiral looks quite different; Brunswick notices that his left eyebrow is missing! Everyone reacts with shock and begins frantically searching for the missing brow (depicted in a panoramic double gatefold). The eyebrow is nowhere to be found; Brunswick concludes that it has been stolen. Nelson, however, has a different idea. When they use their magnifying glasses, they find a tiny trail of footprints snaking all over the museum and ending at a painting of a cherub, now adorned with a brushy mustache. Only it’s not a mustache, it’s an eyebrow—correction, it’s a very hairy caterpillar! Case closed. The caterpillar returns to The Admiral, allowing the painting to change expression at will. Keoghan and Lam’s twisty mystery delivers droll surprises; it should encourage young readers to visit their local museums. Keoghan’s posterlike illustrations featuring clothed, anthropomorphic animals (including oxygen-breathing fish) are full of child-pleasing details, including the portraits, who react amusingly to the goings-on.

Solidly silly.